“Hinami?”

Momo, who was beside Miko, looked at Hina.

“You mean this is Hinami Akume?!”

Her eyes widened and a huge grin appeared on her face. She immediately approached Hina.

“I’m a big fan of yours!”

“Really? It’s an honor for the famous Midnight Witch to say that. It means a lot to me.”

Hina held her hand and smiled at her.

“You know me?”

“Of course. I’m even a fan of yours. I just love how small and cute you are despite being so strong.”

Hina started to walk around Momo while looking at her from every angle.

“I haven’t even seen dolls this adorable before.”

Momo felt a chill down her spine.

(Why does it feel like I ran into someone like Gramps and Uncle Nova?)

“Hina, what are you doing here?”

“Wait, Miko.”

Hina lifted her hand to stop Miko from talking and started playing with Momo’s cheeks.

“So cute! I’ll definitely put you in a comic since words can’t capture your cuteness!”

She finally looked in Miko’s direction and saw Tia.

“……!”

Her body froze when her eyes met Tia’s. She didn’t even breathe, it was like time itself came to halt for her. After a while, she fell to her knees completely dispirited.

“I admit my defeat. There’s no way I can accurately reflect such beauty with words or drawings.”

She even sobbed a bit.

“This is a beauty that transcends art!”

She seemly became even more depressed.

As for Tia-

“Hmph. At least you know.”

She stood tall with her chest puffed out proudly.

“Ah…..”

Miko stood there without knowing what to do.

“Oh, Miko.”

Hina stood up like she just remembered him.

“What a coincidence. I wanted your help with the character I based on you.”

She went into her bag and took a notebook while approaching him.

“I want to go over some stuff with you. You can have a look at my latest works as a reward.”

“………”

Miko was silent for a while because as usual, he couldn’t sense any negative feelings coming from Hina. However, he had a hard time believing that he ran into her by coincidence. He began to wonder if she followed him again. If so, was it really the reason she said?

“Wait….New works?”

Hina nodded.

“You mean, works that haven’t reached the public?”

“I’m the only one that has seen them. Not even my editor has.”

Miko felt really tempted. If your favorite author wanted your advice in return for you being the first to see their new work, could you easily reject them?

(I think she has some ulterior motive, but….)

Miko looked at the notebook that was in Hina’s hand.

(I wanna see it!)

He shouted in his head.

“Sure, I’ll help.”

(Momo and Tia will be there as well. So even if something happens, they’ll be able to do something.)

He thought.

“Really? Thanks! You’ll be great help!”

Hina’s eyes lit up and she drew closer to Miko and showed him a beautiful smile. Momo lifted her hand.

“I know the place we can use.”

Later, Miko and the girls were brought to Momo’s private house which was in the center of the city.

“I only use this place for practicing spells, but it’s pretty secure and we won’t be bothered.”

Momo introduced the three-story home to them.

“Wow….This house is enchanted.”

Hina approached the building.

“You can tell?”

Momo was a bit surprised.

“Yeah. I’ve always had a special eye for magic. I could tell right away.”

“Special eye?”

Momo looked at Hina’s eyes.

“Wait, weren’t your eyes purple?”

The others looked and saw that Hina’s eyes were gold and glowing.

“Ah, this just happens whenever I try to read the mana before me.”

Hina pointed at her eyes.

“My eyes have the ability to break down mana and analyze it.”

“Really?!”

Momo jumped and dragged Hina’s face down to her level. She looked at her crystal gold eyes.

“Amazing, this must be the eyes of a god. How far can you see with it?”

“After 500m it becomes a bit hard to make out a person’s eye color.”

Hina was unbothered by Momo rudely grabbing her face.

“Incredible. If Alec ever hear about this, I’m sure he would try to dissect you.”

“I can see that.”

Miko nodded in agreement.

“I’m surprised you were willing to reveal that.”

Hina smiled at him.

“Well, I can tell that you’re still cautious of me, so I wanted to lay it out in the clear to show you that I mean no harm.”

“…….”

(Miko is having a hard time handling this girl.)

Tia had an amused look on her face.

“Okay, let's go in and get started.”

Hina spoke with a perky voice.

They entered Momo’s private house and were immediately blown away.

“This is inside a house?”

Before them lay a beautiful valley that seemingly stretched for several miles. There was a wide blue sky that served as the roof. There was wildlife everywhere.

“A Dimensional Field spell.”

Tia mumbled.

“That’s right. The inside of the house leads to a different dimension.”

Momo walked into the valley.

Miko noticed a grassless spot on the ground with something drawn on it. It was a magic circle.

“This magic circle is so complex, I can’t analyze it in one go. It would take hours or even days to do so.”

Hina was looking at the circle with her special eyes.

“Worthy of the empire’s Youngest Spell Master.”

“Thanks. It took a lot of research before I could pull it off…Is this alright for you, Hinami?”

“Call me Hina, and it’s perfect.”

She sat down on the soft-looking grass and petted a nearby rabbit.

“Miko, here’s the manuscript where your character makes his debut. Read it and tell me what you think.”

She took out a stack of papers and handed it to Miko, who looked at it like it was a piece of treasure. However, before he could open it it was snatched by Momo.

“Ladies first.”

“I have a copy, so there’s no need to fight.”

Hina handed Miko another one before he and Momo could begin battling over the manuscript.

“You get to see another day, little girl.”

Momo ignored Miko and started reading. Miko also started to read in silence.

Tia was bored so she approached Hina.

“Say, do you play Gangster’s Paradise?”

“Yeah. I play it whenever I’m free. It’s what I use to train myself.”

“Really? Which area do you play in?”

“Lizard Bay.”

Tia snorted.

“Noob.”

“Eh?”

“Sorry, bad habit.”

“Ah…..”

(Was I just called a noob by a goddess?)

Hina thought to herself.

(I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.)

“Hey, have you ever heard of a player called Ace?”

Tia asked a different question.

“Ace?”

“Yeah. He’s a legendary pro gamer. He killed us in Gangster’s Paradise and now we’re hunting him down.”

She left out that he led a gang. Hina shook her head.

“I’ve never heard of him.”

“Hm…”

Tia looked at her with a gaze that seemingly stared right into her soul. It was as if she could see everything that Hina had hidden.

“I see.”

Tia smiled.

“Thanks for being honest.”

“Of course. I would never be bold enough to lie to a goddess’s face.”

Hina also replied with a smile.

“If you did, you would definitely be one serious daredevil.”

A strange smile appeared on Tia’s face while Hina became silent.

“I’m done.”

Momo put down the papers.

“I only read up to his introduction and initial interaction with the main cast, so I don’t know if I’m 100% accurate when I say this.”

She looked at Hina and said-

“This character is too unstable. He’s whimsical, and completely out of control. He’ll work better as a villain than a hero.”

Hina nodded.

“I agree. Characters like that make great villains, but people find it hard to relate to them as a hero, or even anti-hero.”

“But isn’t that the point?”

Miko was still reading the paper.

“He’s clearly not hero material, but still desperately tried to fit in. As long as it’s done well, the readers will sympathize with him.”

He paused a little before saying-

“A tragic hero.”

“Hm! Yes, you’re right. This character is a tragic hero.”

Hina nodded excitedly.

“And he’s based on me?”

Miko looked at her.

“Is this how you see me? A tragic hero?”

“Yes, and no. This character is based more on your past self rather than the current you. The you who never received recognition no matter how hard you tried, but still never gave up. That you were a tragic hero in its own right.”

“You did your research.”

The way Hina portrayed the character in her book was very similar to how Miko was as a child. So much that he saw himself in the character. To achieve this, Hina needed to do some intensive research about him. This caused him to frown.

(This is incredible but also unsettling. Her character acts just like I would in these situations. Even the monologue is perfect…It’s like she knows everything about me…and that’s a bit dangerous.)

Momo also frowned. She wondered if the character portrayal would stir negative feelings in Miko, which wasn’t good; especially the way he’s been rushing himself as of late.

As if sensing that, Tia-

“You really like Miko don’t you?”

She asked Hina.

“For you to create a character like this and for it to be so similar to him, so you must really like him.”

“Well, I won’t deny that.”

Hina chuckled a bit.

“Like everyone else, I heard the rumors but instead of fear, I felt interested in him. I wanted to learn his story, see things from his point of view, and not from the masses.”

She showed a bright and beautiful smile.

“I really love tragic heroes. They tend to be the most beautiful when they bloom.”

“……..”

Hina’s bright smile caused Miko to be silent. If he had to be honest, it made him as uncomfortable as he found it beautiful.

(Bloom huh….)

Hina spent a few hours with Miko and the girls before returning home. They offered to walk her home, but she refused saying that it was too much to ask of them. She was now walking alone in the city. When she saw that there was no one around, she stopped and stretched.

*Rip!*

A tearing sound came from behind her, and a pair of giant white dove wings appeared from her back. She jumped and started to fly with her wings. She flew fast and quickly left the city and was now in rural areas heading towards another country in the empire. While she was flying, she had a smile on her face.

“I gotta tell Ace the players he killed are hunting him down. I’m pretty sure he would be thrilled when he hears who it is.”

She spun in the sky with her arms spread.

“I wanted to kill him when he used the funds he acquired from conquering the Black Spades to buy a Dreamscape Gaming pod, but who would’ve thought that it was a great investment?”

She took out her phone and started to search for a number.

“I wonder if he’s home, or is he with the Black Spades?”

She began to hum.

“Sora is still on tour, but he should be getting back anytime now. I’m sure he’ll love to hear about this as well.”

She found what she was looking for, but just as she was going to make a call, a message came in.

Hina frowned when she saw the sender’s ID.

Nebulous.