-Epilogue-

 

            It was now Saturday, April 29^th. It was the first day of Golden Week, so no classes were being held. Despite the holiday, Yuko had already decided to take a shift at the café, and was working there now. It was just a bit after noon, and the café was moderately busy. Several students with nothing to do were hanging around, but it’s not like it was crowded either. At the moment, Yuko was spacing out a bit, thinking about recent events while cleaning up a recently-vacated table.

            The chime on the café’s door rung, and a new customer entered the building. One of the other employees greeted the customer, but then Yuko heard someone call her name.

            “Hey, Yuko!”

            Yuko turned to the doorway, seeing that the new customer was Chisa.

            “Chisa! Come have a seat.” Yuko had finished her work at the table and called Chisa over to have a seat at the bar counter. After taking her seat, Chisa ordered a drink, which Yuko quickly prepared and handed over to her.

            “Thanks a bunch!” said Chisa, taking a sip.

            “So how are you doing?” Yuko asked, with a bit of worry in her expression.

            “Pretty good, actually.” Chisa gave a small smile. “I visited Honda this morning. She and all the others are going through some rough muscle aches, but overall they seem to be fine.”

            “I see. That’s good to hear.”

            The two stood still in a moment of silence, unsure of what to say next. Both Yuko and Chisa lacked the full picture of what occurred the night before. Each girl had questions for the other, but neither was sure of where to start.

            “What’s goin’ on, you two?” noticing the two girls’ awkward silence, the Boss approached. “Everything okay? It seems like that incident from yesterday was resolved.”

            “Oh, hey boss! Yeah, Kanna really helped take care of everything.” Yuko smiled awkwardly.

            “As expected of Kan-chan. Hehe. So what’s got you two all down in the dumps over here?” the Boss asked, adjusting his sunglasses.

            “Fine, I’ll just come out and say it!” Chisa slapped her cheeks and pumped her fists. “Yuko!”

            “Ah! Yeah, what is it, Chisa?” Yuko blinked in surprise.

            “What actually happened last night?” Chisa dramatically slapped the counter. “Honda and the rest of the patients don’t remember anything, and nobody at the clinic seems to know where they were actually found!”

            “Huh? Well, about that…” Yuko mumbled.

            “And also!” Chisa continued, not giving Yuko a chance to speak. “I know I went out last night to search more on my own, but the next thing I knew, I woke up really early this morning in my bed like nothing happened! What’s that about?!”

            “Sounds like this whole thing is way more complicated than I thought…” the Boss tilted his head at Chisa’s frustrations.

            “Right?” she responded, sitting back down. “I almost went out to search again this morning, but then I ran into the prez in the lobby, who told me the whole thing had already been resolved, and they were all back in the clinic!”

            “Oh, Kanna…” Yuko could easily imagine the kind of blunt, unhelpful explanation Kanna must’ve given to the confused Chisa.

            “But…” Chisa sighed. “I guess it’s fine, since things have worked out. I’m glad I got to talk to Honda again…”

            As Yuko watched Chisa take a sip of her drink again, Yuko thought back to her own experience that night. She remembered everything up through the encounter with Mr. Taniguchi in the secret cave, but then passed out as their battle began. When she came too, Kanna was carrying her back to the dorms. She told Yuko that everyone was safe and that she would explain things to her later. So even now, Yuko still isn’t entirely sure how the situation with Taniguchi wrapped up.

            “So… how about you? Are you okay, Yuko?” Chisa asked, looking at her friend with concern.

            After a small pause, Yuko smiled and responded.

            “Yeah! I’m feeling great today.”

            “Then… I guess everything’s good after all.” Chisa was happy to see such a genuine smile from her friend, especially after the bizarre week they’d just had.

            After that small exchange, Boss got back to his work while the two friends shared some small talk. They chatted about things going on during the holiday, some recent gossip, and stuff being shown on TV. The usual kind of things they’d chat about.

            “Well, I should probably let you get back to work.” Chisa said, rising from her seat.

            “Yeah.” Yuko nodded. “I’ll see you later, okay?” she waved goodbye with a smile.

            “Yep. Talk to you later!” Chisa waved back in turn before exiting the café.

            Outside, Chisa glanced up at the few clouds roaming the sunny sky. It was a perfectly clear spring day. Green leaves danced in the air as a spring breeze swept through the plaza.

            “You’ll tell me one day… Right, Yuko?” Chisa whispered to herself.

            Chisa recalled waking up last night for a brief moment. She was in a room she didn’t recognize, and saw student council president Kanna, as well as Yuko, standing nearby. It was a hazy memory, but she knew there was something different about the Yuko she saw at that time.

            That wasn’t all, either. Chisa had a distinct memory of encountering Mr. Taniguchi at the theater the night before. At first, what happened was so bizarre that she dismissed it as a dream, but she began to realize it was most likely real. She got the distinct feeling that something strange had happened behind the scenes; something that she had no idea about. Whatever it was, though, seems to have been resolved as of last night.

            Yuko… One day, I’ll learn the truth from you.

            Deciding to let the issue be for now, Chisa put it in the back of her mind before turning and walking down the plaza’s walkway. Many students, enjoying their day off, were going back and forth throughout the area. In the midst of that crowd, Chisa felt awfully alone as she walked away.

---

            “Alright, I’m heading out now!” Yuko called out.

            “Got it!” the Boss shouted back. “Thanks for helping out today! I appreciate it!”

            “No problem!” Yuko smiled and waved to the Boss and other coworkers before exiting the shop. It’d been several hours since Chisa’s visit and Yuko’s shift had come to an end.

            Heading back home, Yuko briskly walked through the plaza and followed the walkway that headed toward the dorms. On her way there, she noticed a certain group of students headed the same way. Within that group, she noticed a certain someone.

            “Murakami!” Yuko shouted, waving at the group. Sure enough, one of the people there was Tanabe Murakami. Noticing Yuko’s call, he waved back. After saying something to the others with him, he then left the group and walked over to Yuko’s side.

            “Quite a surprise to run into you out here, Maeda.” he smiled.

            “Yeah.” Yuko nodded. “So what’s going on?”

            “Ah, those guys are other members of the kendo club.” Tanabe clarified, glancing at the group he’d just been walking with. “We just wrapped up practice and were heading back to the dorms.”

            “Oh, I see! Practicing for the upcoming match, right?”

            “You bet. It’s been kind of a pain to be honest, haha.” Tanabe chuckled. “You had a shift at the café today, right?”

            “Yep.” Yuko nodded. “Being there so early in the day felt a little odd. But it was basically the same as usual.”

            “Good to hear.” Tanabe smiled. “Oh, that reminds me! Did everything turn out well with that emergency yesterday?”

            “Oh!” Yuko had forgotten that the last time she’d seen Tanabe, she had left work early to go help Chisa search for the missing patients. It can be assumed that Tanabe never heard any follow-up to that, especially since the school was trying to keep the incident quiet.

            “Yeah, don’t worry. We did eventually find everyone, and they’re back at the clinic recovering like before.” Yuko replied.

            “That’s good to hear.” Tanabe smiled, before looking up at the sky. “You know, things are usually pretty relaxed around here. I mean, there’s always some kind of drama between a few students here and there, but overall this place is pretty peaceful. Hearing about what was happening yesterday was kind of a shock, to be honest.”

            “Yeah, I know what you mean…” Yuko looked down, thinking of the hectic week she’d had. “But… I think it’s basically all over for now. So things should be getting back to normal.”

            “I see… Guess you were wrapped up in whatever’s been going on, huh?” Tanabe asked, teasingly.

            “What? What makes you say that?” Yuko looked up at Tanabe, a bit flustered.

            “I mean, if you know it’s over now, then you must’ve been at least somewhat involved, right?” Tanabe grinned while ruffling Yuko’s hair a bit.

            “Heh… You got me.” Yuko smiled wrly, embarrassed not only by Tanabe’s perceptiveness, but also the casual headpat he’d given her.

            “Well, I may not be of much help, but…” Tanabe pointed his thumb back at the kendo sword case he currently carried on his back. “If you’re ever in trouble, or anything like that, you can always call on me.”

            “Murakami…” Yuko looked up at him, wide-eyed. Then, blushing a bit, she looked away. “You really don’t have to worry about me. Like I said, things are fine now. But still… thanks.”

            “Any time.” Tanabe smiled.

            The two continued walking until they arrived at the entrance to the student dorms. There, Yuko noticed there was a person standing outside, as if waiting for someone. It was the student council president, and secret knight from another world, Kanna Kawagoe.

            “Kanna!” Yuko exclaimed, noticing her.

            “Ah, there you are, Yuko Maeda.” Kanna approached.

            “What’s going on?” Yuko asked, feeling just a bit worried.

            “Nothing urgent, rest assured.” Kanna answered. “I was simply waiting to speak with you. Are you free to accompany me right now?”

            “Oh, sure, I guess…” Yuko was taken off guard by the sudden invitation. “Murakami, I suppose I’ll see you later!” she bowed to the boy standing beside her.

            “Right, of course.” Tanabe replied. “See you later, and take care.” Tanabe then entered the dorms, leaving the two of them at the entrance.

            “Well then,” Kanna motioned to Yuko. “Please follow me.”

            “Okay!” Yuko nodded with resolve, moving to follow behind Kanna.

---

            It was a clear blue sky overhead. The sun was shining brilliantly in the sky, as a cool breeze swept between the trees. The water glistened with reflections of the sunlight, and the cheerful murmurs of some nearby students filled the air. The lively atmosphere of Rigel Park on a holiday afternoon was a stark contrast to the lonely vibes it carried on that fateful night. Yuko couldn’t help but make such a comparison as she and Kanna walked along the edge of the pond, moving away from the other nearby groups.

            “To think that this is where it all started… It really seems like a dream now, huh?” Yuko reminisced. It hadn’t even been a full week yet, but that frightening Monday night already felt so far away.

            “Perhaps so. But alas, it was no dream.” Kanna stared at the surface of the water.

            “Everything’s over now… right?” still left wondering what Kanna brought her out here for, Yuko couldn’t help but ask for confirmation.

            “Yes, the core incident has been resolved.” Kanna reassured. “One could say this is the end, but perhaps… this is just the beginning.”

            “What do you mean? Just the beginning of what?” Yuko tilted her head.

            “Yuko Maeda, how much of last night do you remember?” Kanna turned to face Yuko.

            “Last night? Well…” Yuko thought hard. “We went to that secret place up on the mountain… Mr. Taniguchi was there, and we found out he was the culprit. You two started to fight in that weird… what was it called? Magic zone?”

            “Yes. It was his magic zone; a small artificial world where he could maximize his magic.” Kanna explained.

            “Right… I think I passed out then. And later I woke up with you carrying me back to the dorms, and you said everything had been worked out.” Yuko smiled wryly. “Sorry to pass out at such an inconvenient time. But I’m glad you got everyone back.”

            “Of course…” Kanna looked down.

            Kanna realized from this explanation that Yuko didn’t consider what happened last night to be another lapse in memory. She simply believes she’d lost consciousness due to the pressure of the situation. As things stand, Yuko may not easily learn of the ‘other self’ that lurks within her.

            Up until now, the uncertainty of the situation had led Kanna to keeping such information quiet. She was unsure whether making the regular Yuko aware of the other one was a good idea or not. But now, with the primary incident resolved, Kanna felt it only right to give Yuko the whole story.

            Especially after that exchange the night before…

            Kanna thought back to that moment.

            “Good, she appears to have drifted back to sleep…” Kanna spoke, as Chisa closed her eyes and returned to sleep.

            It was Friday night, just after the battle with Taniguchi. Taniguchi’s magic zone was dispelled and everyone once more stood in the dim hidden room: the one where Kanna would normally use the gate to communicate with the other world. The patients and Chisa were all unconscious on the ground, while Kanna and the ‘other’ Yuko both stood. At their feet… was the burned remains of Karuto Taniguchi’s body.

            Kanna grimaced at the sight and smelled of the burnt corpse. Despite still feeling pretty drained from the battle, Kanna materialized her staff one last time and pointed it at the body. Soon, Taniguchi’s body was encased in ice. Kanna had used her ice magic to create a sort of makeshift coffin to house the body.

            “Haah…” Kanna exhaled, before letting her staff fade away once more. After catching her breath, Kanna regained her posture and began to watch the ‘other’ Yuko carefully. This whole time she’d just been standing there, looking at Taniguchi’s body in a daze.

            “Just who are you?” Kanna asked quietly.

            “…” wordlessly, she turned slowly to face Kanna.

            “I mean… Thank you, for saving me.” Kanna averted her eyes from the ‘other’ Yuko’s piercing glare.

            “I require no thanks.” responded the deep, emotionless voice of the ‘other’ Yuko.

            Kanna, unsure how to respond, just stood silently for a moment. But she still had many questions. So after a moment, she moved to speak again.

            “I must know. Are you Yuko? Or are you not? Could you please give me some understanding of who I am speaking to?” Kanna was a bit nervous. If the other Yuko turned on her now, there’s no way she’d be able to properly defend herself. Kanna simply reassured herself that if the ‘other’ Yuko still wanted to kill her, she would’ve already tried to do so.

            “…” the ‘other’ Yuko stood still, simply staring at her hand.

            “Um…” Kanna was starting to get impatient, when…

            “My only desire… is to protect this body. Whether I am or am not Yuko, I do not know. All I know is that I must eliminate any threat. Because the end of this body would be the end of my existence…” the ‘other’ Yuko finally spoke.

            “I see… I had a feeling.” Kanna nodded, relieved. The reason this ‘other’ Yuko had declared an intention to kill before was because Kanna herself was attacking Yuko at the time. Likewise, in this situation where Yuko likely feared for her life in the battle against Taniguchi, this ‘other self’ once again surfaced, and mercilessly eliminated the threat. Naturally, the same applies to Yuko’s first encounter with the Razor Wolf magic beast as well.

            “It appears I have no reason to linger.” the ‘other’ Yuko was preparing to leave.

            “Hold on!” Kanna stopped her. “Before you go, I must ask… Would it be permissible to inform Yuko Maeda about you?”

            “… Do as you like.” With those words, ‘Yuko’ lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. Kanna quickly moved to catch her.

            “Good grief…” Kanna muttered. “Now I have one more person I must carry out of here…”

            Needless to say, Kanna had a long night.

            Moving back to the present, Kanna shook her head a bit after thinking back to that conversation. She and Yuko still stood together by the pond in Rigel Park on Saturday afternoon.

            “Yuko, there is one detail I have been keeping from you.” Kanna looked Yuko in the eyes.

            “Huh? What is it?” Yuko blinked.

            “My apologies. The truth is… I have known the reason for your prior memory loss for a little while now. I was simply uncertain on what to share with you until now.” Kanna bowed.

            “Huh? Oh, it’s no big deal!” Yuko waved her hands around. “It’s really not a big deal now. I mean, I think that was all just some weird side effect from the stress of running into those magic beasts, right? Maybe the magic did something weird to me, haha.”

            “No.” Kanna shook her head, before lifting her arm and pointing her finger directly at the center of Yuko’s chest. “I do not understand it all myself, but the answer lies within you.”

            “What do you mean…?”

            “Yuko Maeda, the truth is… There is another personality inside of you. I have encountered it twice already. You other self is the side of you that has the ability to utilize the magic within you.” Kanna quietly explained.

            A gust of wind blew by the two as they stood there, and a small fish leapt from the pond. Yuko was silent, not quite understanding what Kanna had just told her.

            “… Huh? Another personality?” Yuko was wide-eyed and confused.

            “Well, I call it that. But honestly, I do not know what it is.” Kanna shrugged. “I simply believe you should be aware of it, as well as the potential you hold within.”

            “Wait, wait… I still don’t get it!” Yuko was getting a bit frantic. “What do you mean? There’s another person inside me? What the hell?!”

            “Calm yourself.” Kanna took hold of Yuko’s hand. “I shall explain it all from the start.”

            From there, Kanna explained the entire series of events that had occurred that week from her point of view: The fact that Yuko’s alternate self had killed the magic beast on Monday night and returned to the dorms. The discovery of this on the security feeds that lead to Kanna becoming hostile towards Yuko. Kanna’s subsequent battle with the other Yuko on Wednesday night after Taniguchi’s letter had lured Yuko to a magic beast again. The quiet investigation of Yuko and testing her affinity to confirm what Kanna had seen in her battle. And lastly, Friday’s missing patients incident that had brought the truth of the magic beast attacks to light.

            “Thus, with the help of that other personality within you, Taniguchi… was stopped.” Despite explaining everything else, Kanna had chosen to stop short of telling Yuko that she’d technically murdered Taniguchi. Such a revelation would probably be too much to deal with right now.

            “I see… So that’s what was going on…” having finally heard the whole story, Yuko was slowly starting to accept it. She kneeled down by the pond and stared at her reflection in the water. “It was… another me.”

            “Correct…” Kanna answered, taking a seat beside her. “Even now, I still do not fully understand what your other self truly is.”

            “Then… what should I do, Kanna?” Yuko asked.

            “That… is something only you can decide, Yuko.” Kanna gazed out at the pond. The sun was slowly but surely beginning to dip toward the horizon, and light beamed through the trees onto the surface of the water.

            “I guess so.” Yuko responded.

            “Yuko Maeda…” Kanna glanced at her lost friend. “Before, when I had thought you were the culprit… I asked who you really were. Do you remember what you told me?”

            “Huh? I’m not sure…” Yuko was thrown off by the sudden question.

            “You told me… ‘I’m Yuko Maeda!’ with a lot of passion.” Kanna chuckled to herself just a bit. “It honestly shook me, just a bit. That was when I first began to doubt my theory. And of course, the truth of the matter soon became apparent.”

            “I’m… Yuko Maeda.” Yuko muttered.

            “That is correct.” Kanna smiled. “No matter what, I believe in your strong sense of self. That is why I have chosen to reveal the truth to you.”

            “I see…” Yuko finally began to regain her smile. “Thanks Kanna. You really have been too kind to me, haha.”

            “Think nothing of it.” Kanna stood up once more. “I shall continue to watch over you, Yuko Maeda. It appears my final year in this world will be most interesting.”

            “Oh yeah, you are a 3^rd-Year after all…” Yuko also rose to her feet.

            “Indeed. Once I graduate, I shall return to Alviquan.” Kanna gave a sentimental smile as she gazed at the pond. “Never could I have expected to find such a unique case as you over here…”

            “Am I really so strange?” Yuko scratched the back of her head, somewhat embarrassed.

            “I have said as much before, but it should normally be impossible for humans of this world to use magic. And yet, your other self, that so-called guardian within you, can use both fire and dark magic.”

            “Guardian?” Yuko blinked at the unexpected descriptor.

            “Well, she said that her purpose in manifesting was to protect you. That sounds like some kind of guardian, does it not?” Kanna asked.

            “I suppose you’re right, haha.” Yuko laughed with a wry expression. “I guess we’ll just call her the Guardian then. That’s probably easier to remember.”

            “Good idea.” Kanna nodded, beginning to stretch her arms. “Ah, this divergent world… To think, in this place I have found one who diverges so heavily from the rules I thought had simply been facts of life.”

            “What’s that about?” Yuko laughed. “From my perspective, you’re the one ‘diverging’ from everything I thought I knew, haha.”

            “A fair point.” Kanna chuckled. “But alas, I truly am not special. There are plenty of magic knights just like me in Alviquan.”

            “But here in Starlight Academy, you really are unique. Besides, I’d be totally lost without you!” Yuko smiled.

            “Heh… You have my thanks.” Kanna smiled back. “Well, I look forward to working with you, Divergent Magical Yuko.”

            After a brief moment of silence, the two could only laugh to themselves over the sudden cheesy nickname.

[Volume 1: The Awakening of Duality – END]

---

-Another Epilogue-

            It was now Sunday April 30^th. It was the last day of the month and Kanna Kawagoe, real name Canah Crygahl, had already arrived in the secret room at the back of the cave. At the end of the month, Kanna would always make contact with the high priest from her world, the kingdom of Alviquan. These meetings were relatively simple affairs, as Kanna would generally just share small information related to this world and the people in it. Of course, in months prior Kanna would be joined by Karuto Taniguchi, real name Kurt Torkalv, for these meetings as well. But due to the recent turn of events, this would perhaps be the most difficult meeting for Kanna to deal with. Kanna could only sigh as she prepared the mirror for the opening of the Gate. While making the preparations, the large stone door behind her opened…

            “So you came…” Kanna sighed, glancing back at the doorway.

            There at the entrance stood a tall middle-aged man with short, wavy silver hair. He wore a tidy business suit, along with the small circle-lens sunglasses on his face. Upon entering the room he gave a simple knowing smile, as if amused by Kanna’s annoyance.

            “Now, now.” The man chuckled “I told you before, it’s my responsibility to participate in your little meeting this time due to a certain dangerous conflict taking place on the grounds of my district, yes?”

            “And I told you I could convey any necessary information on my own…” Kanna grumbled. “But fine, you have already arrived. It would be a waste to send you away now…”

            “Heh heh. Thank you very much.” the man replied as he took a seat at the round table.

            Kanna finished up all the preparations and began to channel her magic energy into the mirror. The mirror began to glow with a faint light, illuminating the rather dim room with just a bit more light.

            “Oho, impressive!” the seated man clapped his hands. “I must say, no matter how many times I see it, the magic you all can do never ceases to amaze.”

            “This was nothing special.” Kanna responded, also taking a seat at the table. “Everything is ready. Now we just wait for the link from the other side, and the path should open.”

            Several minutes pass in a bit of an awkward silence, when suddenly the light on the mirror takes on a purple-ish color, before a dark void in the center opens wide. In an instant, the space where the mirror once was now showed what seemed to be another room on the opposite side. There stood an elderly man with a long white beard wearing refine white robes. The man stepped through the Gate, with two elite bodyguards standing directly behind him, still on the opposite side of the mirror. Kanna quickly stood up before kneeling down before the bearded man.

            “High Priest Mashylm, welcome. Magic Knight Canah Crygahl is at your service.” Kanna stated, with her head bowed.

            “You may rise, Crygahl.” the high priest replied with his low reverberating voice.

            “Yes, sir.” Kanna rose to her feet. “As you have probably surmised, an unforeseen situation has arisen.”

            “Yes, it appears so.” replied the high priest, with clear annoyance in his voice. “Not only is Magic Knight Torkalv absent, but it appears this man has dared to intrude on our private meeting.” The high priest glared at the man still sitting at the table.

            “Yes, yes. I know outsiders like me aren’t supposed to be present for these things.” the man replied in a laidback manner, before sitting up straight. “But we’ve had to deal with a rather serious incident, you see. Please have a seat.”

            The high priest glared at the man, before silently taking the seat closest to the mirror. The priest’s two bodyguards crossed the mirror and now both stood to the left and right of it. Following suit, Kanna also returned to her seat at the table.

            “Now then,” the man clad in the business suit began. “It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it Mr. High Priest? If you need a refresher, I’m Mitsuo Tokushige. I’m one of the four district managers working under Akihito Hoshikage, and I’m in charge of the East District of Starlight Academy.”

            “Yes, I remember you.” replied the high priest. “Hoshikage introduced you, recommending your district as the home for our knights during their investigation.”

            “That’s me!” Tokushige responded with a sheepish grin. “Now then, I say we get down to business. Regarding a certain dire incident that just recently occurred on this side, well, I suppose your knight here has probably already arranged a report for you.”

            “Hrmph.” the high priest seemed disgruntled at Tokushige for blatantly taking lead of the discussion, but ignored it for now. “Crygahl, you may share this month’s report.”

            “Yes, sir.” Kanna responded, pulling out a written report from her bag.

            From there, Kanna began to explain the entire incident: The fact that the magic knight Kurt Torkalv turned out to be secretly working for the rebel army, his plans to use beast taming magic to turn students into puppets to serve as soldiers, and lastly, about the anomaly that is Yuko Maeda.

            “Unbelievable…” the high priest was taken aback by everything explained to him.

            “Yes, and um…” Kanna rose from her seat, going to the corner of the room. A tall object there had been covered in a large tarp this whole time, but Kanna removed the tarp.

            “My god…” the high priest was flabbergasted.

            “I apologize for having to show you something so grotesque, sir.” Kanna bowed in apology. “But I have preserved the remains of Magic Knight Torkalv in this ice. Your soldiers may return his body to Alviquan to be dealt with at your discretion.”

            “Yes… Very good, Crygahl.” The high priest signaled to his two guards who moved to take the large ice coffin and carry it through the gate back to Alviquan.

            “As you can see…” Tokushige spoke up after being quiet for a while. “You’ve let your kingdom’s own political problems cause us quite a bit of trouble over here. We’re lucky things were able to resolve as smoothly as they did, Mr. High Priest.”

            “Grnhh…” the high priest simply glared at Tokushige.

            “Look, I’m a simple guy.” Tokushige responded. “I like to keep things simple and peaceful, and this academy has allowed me to cultivate this little district where, for the most part, I can keep things that way.”

            “What are you trying to say, Tokushige?” the high priest was suspicious.

            “Woah there! Chill with the hostility, please.” Tokushige raised his hands in an exaggerated manner. “I just think that it’s important to say that your side had a little mishap that inconvenienced us. Basically, you owe us.”

            “We have nothing to offer your side at this time. Especially not without headmaster Hoshikage present.” the high priest immediately denied Tokushige’s implications.

            “Aw, c’mon Mr. High Priest. Not everything has to go through old man Hoshikage now, does it? We’re all basically business partners here.”

            “If you truly find yourself so inconvenienced by our presence, then I shall simply relocate Crygahl to a new district at Hoshikage’s suggestion.” The head priest had had enough of Tokushige’s demeanor.

            “Now, now. Don’t do anything drastic.” Tokushige tried to calm down the high priest. “Sure you had one rotten apple, but I’ve taken quite a liking to little Kanna here! She’s pretty popular among the students as well, I’ll have you know.”

            “I-I too would like to remain here for now, sir.” Kanna quietly added.

            “Hrmph.” the high priest grumbled. “Fine then. Things shall remain as they are. But, there is still one thing you must answer for, Tokushige.”

            “And what would that be, Mr. High Priest?” Tokushige smiled.

            “Who the hell is Yuko Maeda?” the high priest glared daggers at Tokushige when asking this question. Kanna had expected this to come up, and stared down at the table nervously.

            “Heh heh heh heh.” Tokushige chuckled. “Why, she’s simply one of my students, is she not? She transferred in from Central just like everyone else. Well, like everyone besides little Kanna here, for obvious reasons.”

            “Do not mock me!” the high priest shouted. “You heard Crygahl’s report just as clearly as I did. That girl is no ordinary human from your world. Who is she?”

            “Would you believe me if I said that even I don’t really know for sure?” Tokushige shrugged in an exaggerated manner. “I mean this sincerely: hearing little Kanna’s story about what this so-called Guardian within Yuko was able to accomplish is just as baffling to me! I have no idea what that Guardian could be.”

            “You best not be trying to conceal information from us, Tokushige.” the high priest narrowed his eyes. “We have an agreement to uphold, and such information is of the upmost importance.”

            “Why, I would never! We’re trusted partners after all, Mr. High Priest.” Tokushige gave a wide grin as he tilted his head.

            “… Fine. I shall let the issue sit for now.” the high priest conceded. “Crygahl, from now on, you shall have an important addendum to your mission: You are to monitor Yuko Maeda closely, and include detailed information on this girl in all of your reports going forward. Do you understand?”

            “Yes, sir!” Kanna bowed. “I had already planned to do as much. I shall not let you down, High Priest.”

            “Excellent.” The high priest nodded. “I apologize, but it appears you must handle your mission alone for the foreseeable future. We cannot send a replacement for Torkalv without consulting Hoshikage.”

            “Yes, I understand.” Kanna replied.

            “Besides… it appears you would prefer things to remain this way anyway.” The high priest once again turned his gaze toward Tokushige.

            “Yes indeed. After all, everybody loves Kanna!” Tokushuge gave a goofy smile and thumbs up, leaving both Kanna and the high priest to sigh in exhaustion.

            After that part of the discussion ended, Tokushige sat quietly while Kanna filled the high priest in on some supplementary tidbits unrelated to the incident. The high priest also delivered Kanna a letter from her family, and Kanna in turned handed over her written report that she’d been reading from. The meeting was winding down and it was time for the head priest to return to Alviquan.

            “Well then…” the high priest rose slowly from his seat. “Today’s meeting was a shocking turn of events, but I believe we shall move forward. Our side shall continue to monitor the activities of the rebel army going forward, now that their scheme has been thwarted.”

            “Yes, sir.” Kanna bowed. “Do take care, sir.”

            “You as well, Crygahl.” the high priest nodded. “Until we meet again, next month.”

            “Bye, Mr. High Priest.” Tokushige waved gleefully, but the high priest ignored him as he passed through the gate.

            Shortly after he passed through, the pathway lit up, and soon, the surface of the mirror returned, reflecting the interior of the room as the light on its surface dimmed. Kanna moved toward the mirror to gather up the magic stones that had powered the gate’s connection.

            “Well, guess I’ll head back out now.” Tokushige said lazily as he rose from his seat and turned to exit the room.

            “District manager…” Kanna called out.

            “Hmm? What is it, little Kanna?” the man looked over his shoulder at Kanna.

            “Do you truly know nothing about Yuko and the Guardian?” Kanna asked, glaring at him.

            “Heh heh. It’s just as I said to Mr. High Priest.” he replied. “I know who Yuko is, but even I’m surprised by what’s occurred this past week.”

            “I see…” Kanna still wasn’t sure whether he was telling the truth.

            “Though I gotta say, I really should pay her a visit sometime, if the opportunity arises.” Tokushige said with his back to Kanna.

            “… Do as you like.” Kanna dismissed his words, and simply turned away.

            With things left at that, Tokushige opened the large stone door and made his exit. Kanna was now left alone in the dim room.

            “Sorry, Yuko…” she sighed. “It appears you may be facing even more troublesome situations in the future.”

[Another Epilogue – END]

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-Afterword-

            Hello everyone! This is balanime, the author of Divergent Magical Yuko. Before I knew it, I finished writing Volume 1. Isn’t that wild? Even now, I’m still trying to process it. This is my very first time writing a web novel, and I hope it became an interesting story for you all.

            Some of you may or may not be aware of this, but the basic concepts of Divergent Magical Yuko were first conceived almost 10 years ago. Back then, I’d been creating some short original animation series’ on Youtube, and had plans to make Yuko the next one. But things eventually fell through and I never ended up completing it. I’d come back to the story idea a lot over the years, slowly modifying it each time. The idea to write it as a book actually came to me several years ago, but I never found the motivation to begin writing anything until recently.

            And now, here we are, all these years later, and I’ve finally managed to materialize this story as a web novel. In the end… it’s diverged wildly from the original concepts I had back in the day, LOL. But as a version of Yuko able to be written by my ‘current self’, I think it’s become a pretty cool story. I’m proud of it.

            Building up this world and solidifying the traits of these characters I’ve thought about for so long has been a surreal experience, to say the least. This volume’s story ended up becoming a pretty good drama surrounding Yuko, Kanna, and Chisa. I think I managed to strike a good balance by giving each of them a role to play in how things progressed. It really felt like their story. I feel kind of bad for Tanabe though, because despite introducing him here, and giving him a fair amount of scenes, he never really had much of a part to play, did he? ^^; Not to mention Yukina, who only had one scene early on before disappearing entirely… Well, there are a lot of characters, and I’ll make sure to give everyone their due time as we move forward. This was only Volume 1 after all.

            I’m sure you’re wondering about Volume 2. I’ve already thought up a solid foundation for the next story! I just need to organize the ideas and characters and begin writing. I plan to spend February preparing things for the next Volume, so the next entry may not be until sometime in March. I’m sorry for the wait, but I think it’s important to have these moments of downtime between volumes so I can prepare things properly.

            If you enjoyed reading this volume, please share Divergent Magical Yuko with your friends and help get the word out there to more people! I’m appreciative of anyone who takes time out of their day to read my story.

            Remember, the series has an official website I put together on Neocities. The link should be in my profile on whichever site you’re reading this!

            Thank you for reading! Until next time!