"Anyway, let's get out of here from now," I suggested to Hinako as I stretched myself with a slight moan. Just before I could walk towards the school rooftop exit, Hinako looked at the swordfish corpse with greed as saliva fell from her mouth.
Hinako washed up her yearning expression as she pretended to cough, "Ahem, let's go shall we?"
I smiled at her adorable behavior, "Well, we could put some of the swordfish into the school's freezer and cook them for later."
Hinako's eyes were shining with eagerness as she held her staff with firm expression. She muttered something which caused the swordfish to float. With another Hinako's muttering, each swordfish was cut into fourteen slices, with a slice being roughly around the size of a small cardboard box.
Hinako levitated the swordfish pieces with a smile as she exited the school rooftop as I followed her. The amount of swordfish meat could last us the entire month, however we weren't in food shortages. After all, with Akemi's effort, she was able to make 'world hunger' as something of the past.
I led Hinako towards the school cafeteria, and towards the school freezer room. The cold of the room made us shiver, so we left in a hurry after Hinako dumped almost all of the swordfish meat into the freezer room, while carrying two of the pieces of swordfish meat with a grin.
"Just sit on one of the cafeteria seats while I'm cooking the fish," I said, pointing towards the seat near the window. Hinako walked towards her seat as she sat down, gazing at the scenery outside the window with a lone expression.
I went to the cafeteria kitchen as I searched for ingredients to cook for our lunch. Ingredients like soy sauce and rice were preserved inside a giant container that could store them for decades before they become inedible.
Before long, I was able to make a simple sushi. However, a scream from Hinako's direction was heard as I rushed towards her side with a panicked expression.
"Hinako! Are you okay?!" I screamed, until I saw Hinako's shocked face, staring at the window.
Hinako's eyes teared up as she saw me, "U-um, Sayoko… is this place haunted?"
I was too flabbergasted by her behavior to say anything. Just before I could say something, a curious voice could be heard from somewhere.
"Where is that voice coming from?" A childish voice could be heard from the window.
"Goddess Cheresilia!" Hinako shouted in surprise.
I could see an innocent looking little girl's puzzled face from the reflection of the cafeteria window as she looked everywhere, trying to find something.
Hinako was struggling to believe her own vision as she muttered, "Over here, Goddess Cheresilia. I'm in this world."
The little girl had bright red hair, red eyes with a petite figure, around the size of an elementary student. She took a suspicious glance towards us.
"Is it… This mirror? I thought Aether had already cleansed it with a holy spell, I couldn't believe there is still a ghost inside this mirror," The little girl nodded with a satisfied expression as she concluded.
"We're not ghosts!" I screamed towards the adorable looking little girl. She was startled at my sudden outburst, however she was able to calm her nerves with a sudden motion.
The little girl asked, "How could I trust you, oh dear haunted mirror?"
"I was chased by monsters. I was cornered, and, so I had no other choice but to jump off the cliff, until finally I was able to pass onto this world," Hinako explained.
The little girl was nodding at Hinako's story with a somewhat understanding look, "I see, so you fell, died, and went straight to the afterlife. Poor souls, don't worry, I'll let Aether exorcist you from this mirror."
Hinako bit her lower lips in frustration. She tried to speak, however no words came out from her mouth. She struggled to voice out anything. I could only sigh at the interaction made by these two.
"First, it was a floating shark with a tiara, now there is a loli inside the reflection of my school window. Today sure was a peaceful day," I laughed with a sarcastic tone.
The little girl's complexion changed in an instant. Her face turned into something serious as she made a follow up question.
"You… You know where the Shark Queen went?!" The little girl asked with an impatient look.
Hinako immediately responded, "Yes! Emily appeared in front of us! She had the Demon Lord's cursed mark and left after a portal swallowed her. A few moments later, a bunch of undead swordfish attacked us."
With each word Hinako said, the resolution inside the window gradually worsened. I was able to see the little girl's pale expression as she walked left and right with impatient and irritated motion.
The little girl muttered, "Just like that Akemi girl…"
As soon as she said that, I tried to launch a barrage of questions. Until without warning, the window cracked, leaving no trace of the red haired little girl.
I sighed at the unexpected interaction we just exchanged, Hinako seemed way more surprised than I was. I gave my tired legs a push as I tried to go back towards the school kitchen to carry our plates of lunch, however Hinako insisted on carrying the sushi for me.
As Hinako arrived with the simple sushi I just made, we ate in silence. The swordfish sushi was so delicious that I didn't realize I finished it all in a flash. We sat awkwardly as we finished lunch until I broke the ice.
"Hey Hinako, do you know that girl?" I asked.
Hinako nodded confidently, "Of course, she is the Goddess of Fire, Cheresilia."
