Chapter 4

I had turned six. I had become one of the older children in kindergarten. Of course, I attended kindergarten. However, conversations with young children were not interesting. They were cute, though. Still, the adult part of me found it difficult to choose to play with kindergarten children.

But for the sake of my family, I pretended to be a normal kindergarten child to prevent the teacher from contacting my parents, saying that I was too quiet and causing concern.

I played games like hide-and-seek, tag, and built sandcastles, pretending to be a normal kindergarten child. But lately, I had been a bit down.

This was because I had no idea how to train. I was depressed, building sandcastles. Of course, even if I ran marathons or helped with housework, I didn't awaken to 'Mana.' By the way, I ran marathons in the yard.

How could I awaken to 'Mana'? In the novel, everyone, including the protagonist, was already awakened to 'Mana' from the beginning. So, there was no description of how to awaken. Even if there was, it was doubtful that a minor character like me would awaken, but I wanted to try.

I danced, did somersaults, sang songs, and even made funny faces, but it was all in vain. My mother just added more photos to my album, finding it adorable. Basically, I was a good boy, so my mother was happy. I don't know why she was happy, though.

While making sandcastles and thinking, a worried voice called out to me.

"Mi-chan, what's wrong?"

It was a young girl's voice, polite but with a hint of childishness. I looked up at the girl sitting across from me, making sandcastles.

"Hmm, is something off?"

"Yes, usually you mobilize everyone to make sand dioramas or start a game of tag with everyone, preparing many ghosts and getting absorbed in the game. But lately, you only make sandcastles with me."

I pretended to be a normal kindergarten child, always acting enthusiastic when playing.

"I have something to worry about. But I don't know how to solve it."

Feeling down, I answered my friend honestly. Was I that different? It was a matter that could affect my life, so it couldn't be helped.

"What are you worried about? Is it that there's not enough snacks or that you want to play more?"

"Hmm, it's a secret."

I smiled gently to dodge the question and started making sandcastles again. My friend looked at me with concern, but the worries of a kindergarten child were different.

She stared at me, so I smiled again to dodge her gaze. The girl playing sandcastles with me was Teisei Yami.

It was an impressive name. I had no prejudice against names, but as a minor character who had entered the world of a novel, I suspected that characters with cool names were from the novel.

But in this novel, even minor characters had cool names, making it hard to judge.

Teisei Yami was a cute girl who looked like she would grow up to be a beautiful young lady. She had lustrous black hair like a raven's wing, beautiful eyes like black diamonds, and a face that suggested she would become a sharp and beautiful woman in the future. Her tone was polite, and I heard she was the eldest daughter of the Teisei Marquis family.

She had all the attributes. I thought she was definitely one of the heroines serving the protagonist, but it was different. A polite, black-haired, black-eyed beauty didn't appear in 'Magical Night.' I remembered the faces of the girls in 'Magical Night,' but not their names.

I was bad at remembering names, especially those of anime or novel characters that weren't related to my work. However, I remembered the faces of cute characters.

If Yami were to transform into a blonde, blue-eyed lady, I would have a character in mind, but I vaguely remembered that her name was clearly not Japanese.

Something like 'Kanchara Kanchara U-nanchara.' Yeah, I don't remember at all. Anyway, she was probably not a character from the novel. She might have been in a spin-off, but I was tired of the main story and hadn't seen any spin-offs. If it had been animated, I might have remembered.

Still, I thought it was unlikely that she was a character from the novel. After all, in this kindergarten, there were quite a few girls with similar tones. It seemed to be a kindergarten for good families. So, perhaps my family was also a good family.

By the way, the reason for the marquis title was that in this world, Japan was called the Japanese Magic Empire, ruled by an emperor, not an emperor. The democratic system only extended to the House of Representatives, while the House of Councillors was renamed the House of Nobles, dominated by prestigious noble families.

Yeah, it was a common setting in novels. Nobles made it easier to use as a plot device. I understood that.

'Magical Night' was a classic low-fantasy novel. It was a novel that created a template, a world full of templates. This was the world I lived in.

Yami tilted her head cutely and looked at me, probably sensing that I was dodging the question. Children are sensitive to such things.

"It's okay. Isn't it almost lunchtime?"

"Yes, Mi-chan is always on time for lunch."

Yami puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction but still went along with my change of topic. She was a good girl.

"I'll clean up first, so Yami, go wash your hands."

"Okay, I'll go ahead."

I put the shovel and scoop into a small bucket. Yami usually said she would help clean up, but today she nodded and went to wash her hands. I smiled wryly and headed to the storage room with the bucket.

What would we have for lunch? This was important. I needed to think about training, but I was a child. I needed to eat plenty of nutrients and exercise moderately to avoid health problems like metabolic syndrome in the future. I didn't want to be told by a doctor to exercise more, so I exercised a lot. That's why lunch was an important event.

I wanted curry. It was because I could have seconds. I thought I would have to kick away the other naughty kids to get seconds, so I was about to go wash my hands when I heard a child's voice from the handwashing area.

"Kyaa! Yami-chan!"

It was a scream, a terrifying one. Children were running down the hallway in a panic.

"What happened?"

"En-chan, it's terrible! A ghost came out when I was washing my hands!"

A crying friend told me. A ghost?

"It came out from the wall! Yami-chan protected me and was attacked!"

Another friend told me, and I realized this was serious. It wasn't just a fight among children. Perhaps a monster had appeared?

"Everyone, go to the teacher! I'll go save Yami!"

Someone once said that helping friends was a given, and I agreed. Also, since the young girl had managed to escape, I thought the monster wasn't that strong. I ran to Yami, thinking I could handle a weak monster.

Don't call me calculating. I'm not the protagonist of a novel, so I don't want to risk my life. That's normal, right?

"Okay, save Yami-chan."

"Empress-chan, do your best!"

The young girls waved goodbye to me. Empress was my nickname, but I had always wondered what it meant. Was I part of the press machine? But now wasn't the time to think about that.

I hurried to the handwashing area with my small hands and feet.

When I arrived, I immediately understood the situation. Yami was crouching, holding her head. A haggard old woman, like a half-transparent mist of darkness, was attached to her small body.

Yami hadn't awakened to the power of a ghost summoner. I had seen this situation in novels and games.

"Is this possession? So it's a 'Wraith.'"

Among monsters, it was a troublesome one that couldn't be defeated by physical attacks. A 'Wraith.' Its special ability was 'Possession.' It would possess a human and manipulate them to kill others.

I was bad at remembering names, but I remembered the names and special abilities of monsters that were easy to understand. It was a common trait among gamers.

"This was an early event, I think. In the novel, the protagonist easily saves the girl who was possessed. It was the same in the game."

I knew how to defeat it, but I broke out in a cold sweat realizing I couldn't do it now.

Right, normal monsters couldn't come out because of walls, so they would be defeated by adventurers outside. But ghosts that could pass through walls could do this. It was an unpleasant situation in reality. I finally understood why a random girl was possessed in the game.

While I was wondering what to do, Yami's groans of pain turned into a hoarse, old woman's voice. Then, Yami stopped crouching and stood up like a ghost.

"Uaaa, Sine Sine Sine"

She was completely possessed. She swayed and came toward me.

I couldn't defeat her, but I was still calm. This was because the possessed could only use physical attacks. Yami didn't have a knife, a cutter, or scissors. She was just a young girl.

My adult mind wouldn't be affected. I could easily restrain her and wait for the adventurers to arrive.

"Sorry, but I'll have to hurt you a bit. If you get a bruise, I'm sorry."

"Sine Sine Sine"

Yami, with bloodshot eyes from madness, threw a punch. But a young girl's punch wouldn't affect me. It was a bit faster, but she was still a weak young girl.

"Whoa"

I guarded with my arm and caught Yami's arm before she could throw a tantrum. Then, I tripped her to subdue her. I had taken judo in high school, so I could easily knock down a young girl.

I was careful not to let Yami hit her head on the floor. I slowly knocked her down with a big outer reap and was about to sit on her to hold her down when—

'Dark Weapon Creation'

The possessed Yami muttered something. Then, a dark aura gathered in her hand. Despite the situation, I was moved by the sight. It was amazing to see a real magical aura. On TV, it always felt unreal, like CG.

But my admiration only lasted until the aura in Yami's hand turned into a dark sword.

Oh... This is bad, isn't it?

I was relaxed, but when Yami wildly swung the sword and grazed my arm, I understood the power of magic.

After all, just a graze had cut my arm halfway through.