An Unborn Hero

The [King] and [Queen] sat on a decorated sofa, colourful fabrics draped over it. The four magical girls and single magical person of indeterminate gender sat on seating of their own, eating light finger-food served by a team of maids. Rose in particular was making the most of the opportunity, having been too nervous to eat during the ball.

If she'd stopped to think, she may have realised that she was still in the presence of the [King], but was somehow not nervous. For better or for worse, she was getting used to it.

"How much longer will Mystery's [Astral Projection] be on cool-down?" politely asked the [Queen], delicately sipping a cup of tea.

"Yes. It's nice to relax after that mess, but there's going to be an even bigger mess tomorrow when news spreads, and we need to decide on our plans," agreed the [King].

Kellela frowned. "Actually, it should be off cool-down already. It's not like she spends every possible moment outside, but given the interesting stuff happening today, this is a little uncharacteristic."

"Did someone at the ball try something?" asked the [King], brows furrowing.

"Through all our security? Unlikely, and who would want to? Fights over national interests are one thing, but harming the [Hero] would be against everyone's interests."

"We do know there's a disguised demon or demon sympathisers around, but it's unlikely they could get into the castle. I built the wards on this place myself," pointed out Hayedalf.

"Oh? That's some confidence you have there," opined a suddenly interested Rrillandral. "You specialise in wards?"

As their conversation got sidetracked, Mystery was indeed safe, but was stewing in her embryo. "A twenty-five percent boost to lifespan... Apparently implemented by slowing my ageing. Now I've added an extra two months to my gestation period! My age is lower than when I was conceived! What will happen if I keep earning achievements like that? Should I just wait in here quietly until I'm born? But if my gestation is slowed, presumably my entire ageing process is too, and getting stuck as a baby wouldn't be much better. I need to avoid getting achievements like that until I'm a teenager at least. Somewhere between twelve and fourteen, so I could be a permanent magical girl."

The choice between optimal magical girl age and physical maturity wasn't even in question.

"On the other hand, hiding in here won't stop the demons coming after me. If I'm going to wait out the pregnancy, I should at least teach the squad to transform themselves first. Rose doesn't have enough mana for it, but Mum can do her. Right. Let's stop moping and put that elf to use."

Mystery recast [Translate] and popped outdoors, finding herself in the middle of an intense conversation between Hayedalf and Rrillandral about comparative warding, and how designs had evolved over the previous millennia. Everyone else looked incredibly bored, Kellela at least understanding enough to follow the conversation, but the present members of royalty needed the full use of their [Etiquette] skills to keep polite smiles on their faces.

Rose, who lacked the aid of either knowledge, etiquette or [Etiquette], had fallen asleep, and was curled up in a chair, snoring. The serving staff were looking at her jealously.

"But the efficiency of the twin-intake design was..." started Hayedalf, before his head snapped up. "Mystery's back."

"Finally," sighed Grace, her noble mask slipping momentarily.

"Schhnurkkk," replied Rose, jerked into wakefulness.

"Right," declared the [King]. "That was certainly... educational, but we really must decide on the future movements of your party. Mystery, are you using [Translate]? Can you flash me a green light, please?"

Mystery did so.

"We really need to visit a temple," sighed Kellela. "I don't want my daughter getting attached to such a stupid name."

Mystery, who up until now had perceived her name only as a meaningless swirl of complex colours, wondered what was stupid about it. And then [Translate] kicked in and helpfully informed her of the meaning of the word.

Mystery flashed a bright red light. Perhaps, after she was born, and had to deal with people using her name to her face, a temple trip would be called for, but until then? Right now, she didn't have a face. It was a perfect name for her role as a magical girl mascot!

"Huh? You want that name?"

The red light switched to an enthusiastic green.

"Let's not get sidetracked again," interrupted the [King]. "Future plans. Traditionally, the [Hero] would receive a full education and extensive combat training before deployment, but that doesn't seem particularly applicable here."

"I disagree," said Rrillandral. "Lack of a functional physical body may prevent training in physical arts, but it does nothing to hinder education or training in magical arts. She has already proven her ability to learn spells with ease. I believe Mystery could become a highly effective combat mage by the time of her birth."

The rest of the room froze as they tried and failed to poke holes in that statement.

"Do you propose... sending Mystery to the royal academy?" asked the [Queen].

"Well, logistics would demand we sent Kellela, but yes."

"The first time was bad enough..." complained Kellela. "But... I admit getting Mystery an education would be helpful. Does it have to be the academy, though? I think private tutors would be more suitable for her."

"I would quite like to finish my course and graduate properly," beamed Grace, happy at the opportunity to wipe one black mark from her marriage prospects. "And I think it would be a great opportunity for Rose to attend, too. And sorry, but I disagree about Mystery. Even if it's logistically complicated, she needs contact with a wide range of others to develop her common sense into something a little more... appropriate."

An insulted Mystery flashed red.

"As a pertinent example, were you aware that a woman showing her knees to a man is an expression of desire for sex, and hence the outfits you keep dressing us up in are completely obscene?"

Mystery refrained from flashing in any colour, suddenly realising why Grace was so firmly in the long-skirt camp, but also somewhat confused as to why no-one else had objected.

"That's only really a thing among the nobility," pointed out the [Queen], indirectly answering Mystery's unspoken question, "but yes, it's a valid point. A normal [Hero]—or a normal anyone, really—would spend years growing up around other people, learning the sorts of things that a tutor wouldn't touch because they're so obvious."

"Language, for a start," thought Mystery ruefully.

"Okay, so... Grace will resume her studies at the academy immediately, while everyone remains safely in the capital. Rose and Mystery via Kellela will attend the academy as freshmen from the start of next term," declared the [King]. "Is everyone okay with that?"

Mystery flashed a begrudging green.

"Actually, I would quite like to attend too," added Rrillandral. "It'll be interesting to see how the curriculum has changed since I last attended."

Everyone in the room looked at Hayedalf, as the only person left out.

"Forget it. There's no reason for me to go."

"Yes, an adult attending would be weird. It's a pity you can't change into a young girl on demand," smirked Rose. "Mystery! Get him!"

Mystery refrained from getting him. Magical girlifying her dad to save his life was one thing, but forcing him to impersonate a schoolgirl to entertain Rose was another.

"Aww. Boring."

"If the rest of you wish to attend the academy, perhaps Hayedalf should join in the knight's training?" suggested the [King].

"Urk. That sounds far too physically demanding."

"He's right, though," pointed out Kellela. "If you're going to be fighting alongside us, you need to be able to handle yourself without relying on Mystery to turn you into a girl."

"A good point. Fine. I have no idea how I'll be able to keep up, though."

"Actually, that's a second good point," chimed in Grace, spotting the opportunity to seize control of her wardrobe. "Mystery, with the limits of [Astral Projection], you can't be around all the time. Please can you teach us the spell you use to transform us?"

Mystery flashed a far more enthusiastic green. Magical girls embracing their roles as defenders of justice? Of course she'd help!

"That is a task I suggest we complete prior to the start of the term, along with solving the remaining communications difficulties. I need to write out a letter-to-colour dictionary, and then I suggest Mystery should learn [Telepathy]," commented Rrillandral.

ding
For beating your personal brightness record, [Light] advances to level 11.

The others in the room winced at the bright, green light.

"At least she's enthusiastic," commented the [Queen].

Xry'kl emerged from the treeline of the forest, seemingly alone.

Appearances could be deceptive.

He frowned at the sight before him; desolate, bloodstained fields, pyres of butchered monster corpses scattered around, the farm's former walls shattered and broken and the defended structures within demolished. Not only was the itchy mana of his target not present, but nothing moved at all. The place was abandoned.

Nor was the source of mana he hunted present within the nearby town, although he did find a familiar face on its outskirts.

"Took you long enough," complained Fylith.

"These things are rare. What's been happening around here, though? That's not your usual disguise."

Fylith frowned, at least with one side of her face. The burns on the other had destroyed her muscle control, leaving her once-beautiful face marred and drooling.

"It's... not a disguise, is it?"

"While you were traipsing around in the forest, one of us was actually tracking our target," she seethed. "Some human filth saw through my disguise somehow. Don't know how, but I do know where our target is. I'll take you there, then you take those pets of yours, and finish her."

Grace stared at the sheet of paper, English rendered phonetically into the local alphabet as best as Rrillandral was able. She read it out loud a few times, with Rrillandral offering help and corrections where the pronunciation ended up a little off. The procedure wasn't too unusual; due to the nature of spells, anyone learning them soon got used to phonetic readings.

"For friendship and justice, demon slaying magical girl Jasper White, transform?"

"Yes, that was pretty much perfect. Now let's work on the image."

That was far harder. How was an Earth human supposed to explain magical girls to a culture that had yet to invent comics or television? Mystery had tried her best, but it wasn't the sort of image that could be conveyed accurately in a single translated paragraph.

"For friendship and justice, demon slaying magical girl Jasper White, transform!" shouted Grace, doing her best to picture herself as some sort of noble knight, fighting the kingdom's enemies.

Nothing happened.

"What do the words even mean, anyway? That's quite long as far as activation phrases go, and it's slightly different for each of us. That's not normal, is it?"

"It's not too unusual to have bits inside an activation phrase that aren't officially a part of the phrase, or that are used for customisation purposes," answered Kellela. "Not normally something you see in combat spells, because having to think about it makes them harder to cast quickly or subvocally, but it's far from unique."

"Yes, but what does it mean?"

Rrillandral told her.

Grace blushed. "Is that why neither of you two are taking part? Argg! What is wrong with this generation's [Hero]?!"

Kellela at least had the decency to look somewhat guilty.

Atop a hill some distance from the capital, Xry'kl stared in disbelief. "So, the last time you detected her, she was in the middle of that?"

"Yes."

"That, right there? The human city? The one with the walls even thicker than Zyfyl'p's skull? Walls warded so heavily that I can see the mana bleeding off them from here? And I can't help but notice that in the centre of it, where you seem to think our target is, is another fortress."

"Can't do it? Too scared? Want to go back to our peers and beg for help? Tell them we were too incompetent to carry out our orders?"

"I don't see you doing any better!"

"At least I tried!"

"And I'll try too," countered Xry'kl, peering at Fylith appraisingly. "All I need is a way inside."

"Hey, why are you staring at me like that?"

"Because I think I've worked out a way," he answered, then punched her in the face.

Spoiler

Mystery (Human)
Age: -10 months
Occupation: Hero (L)
Skills:
- Soul's Eye (U) (32/90)
>> Sense Vitality (U)
>> Sense Soul (R)
>> Sense Mana (U)
>> Sense Light (C)
>> Sense Sound (C)
>> Pierce Illusions (U)
>> Sense Miasma (R)
>> Multi-focal (R)
- Astral Projection (U) (20/60)
>> Sure Navigation (U)
>> Uncontainable (U)
>> Tether of Will (L)
- Robust (C) (18/40)
>> Hardened Soul (R)
>> Secured Mana (U)
>> Pain Tolerance (C)
- Stealth (C) (3/20)
>> Camouflage Vitality (R)
- Magical Girl Transformation (R) (19/30)
>> Age Correction (R)
>> Gender Bending (R)
- Light (C) (11/20)
>> Heterochrome (U)
- Increased Attributes (C) (8/20)
>> Mana Storage (U)
- Investigation (C) (2/10)
- Cosplay (U) (1/10)
- Mana Absorption (U) (2/20)
>> Drain Mana (U)
- Translate (U) (1/10)
Achievements:
- Early Bloomer II (R)
- First Skill (C)
- Journeyman (U)
- Survivor of Zarklaxxos, the Arcane Infernal (R)
- I Broke The System, And All I Got Was This Lousy Achievement (E)
- Astral Explorer I (R)
- First Spell (C)
- I Broke The System Again, And Now The Administrators Hate Me (E)
- Spell Forger (R)
- Demon Slayer II (E)
- Monster Slayer V (E)
- Curiosity (U)
- War Veteran (U)
- Royal Audience (C)
- Diligent Hero (L)

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