Chapter 4:
Micah Ever After
Finally, after Bernadetta had calmed down and returned to the room to go straight to bed, Micah could hear her shallow breaths gently fade into deeper ones until it was clear that she’d fallen asleep.
Carefully, so as not to wake her up, she slipped out of bed. Changing out of her pajamas and into her normal clothes was even more difficult than walking, but she had only her overprotective mother to blame.
The mother that she had just seen cry for the first time in her two years of life.
Even if she still couldn’t completely see Bernadetta as her real, true mother, she still felt her heart break watching such a normally kind and happy woman break down. It filled her with such rage that she decided there and then that she never wanted to see such a thing again. Not just from Bernadetta, but from any of the nuns. She wanted all of them to continue living the meager, but happy lives they’d been living up until that point.
At least until it was time for her to leave them behind.
The bedroom door creaked just a bit too much for her liking, but it wasn’t enough to wake her mother. Instead, as she crept out into the main chapel area, she was the one shocked into alertness after hearing a strange swishing noise echoing off the walls. The moment she caught a glimpse of Brunhilde’s back, she quickly ducked behind one of the church benches and prayed that the woman hadn’t heard the door creaking in the stillness of the night.
But her luck wasn’t so kind. “I know you’re there. Come on out, girl.”
Realizing she’d been caught, Micah sighed and stepped into view. Brunhilde hadn’t turned around at all when she called her out, instead focusing entirely on sweeping the church floors.
“Um, why, Grammy, up?”
“Have to tidy this place for the new owners, after all,” she answered while still facing away. A moment later though, her eyes flickered to the side, eyeing Micah. “...And I thought I might see something interesting if I stayed here long enough.”
“I, pee.”
“You don’t have to talk like that around me. I know the truth already.”
...
...
...Hah?
“Th-The, trooff...?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. I know that you’re only pretending to be a child.”
Eh?! She knows?! S-S-S-Since when?! Did I make a mistake somewhere?! How long has she known?! Did she tell anyone-
“Easy,” she said as she finally stopped to turn around and face her. “I assure you, I haven’t told a soul. It was through my own observations that I was able to learn the truth.”
Shit… She really got me. Oh well, guess there’s no need to put up the act in front of her. But I’ll still be cautious, since I don’t know exactly how much she really knows.
“...I see. How long have you known?”
“Uwah!” Brunhilde’s eyes widened with a start when Micah spoke, but she quickly cleared her throat and continued. “K-Kuhum. Sorry about that. Even though I was prepared, it’s still strange seeing a two-year-old speak with such complexity.”
“It’s fine. So how long have you known?”
“Since two months ago.”
Micah immediately grabbed her head in anguish.
Gaaaaahhh!!! So it was that time after all…!
“Fuaaaa~ Why is it so noisy…?”
“I just happened to be walking past when I heard a peculiarly infantile voice. And considering I had just finished speaking with Josefine, I of course knew it wasn’t her voice like Bernadetta and Henrietta assumed. The only other explanation, albeit unlikely, was that you were the one who spoke.”
I know I screwed up big time that day, so why does it keep coming back to haunt me?!
“Once again, calm yourself, girl. I don’t plan on doing anything with the information,” Brunhilde said, noticing her state of distress.
“Y-You don’t?”
“Of course not. Why would I? I’m too old to go prying into the secrets of others. Conversely though, I have no reason to keep your secret or help you with whatever it is you want to do.”
“That’s fine. Just your silence is good enough.”
“So? Will you go after them?” she asked as she returned to her sweeping.
“Yeah. I’m gonna go and take the deed back.”
“I see. Well then, don’t let me stop you. Though I’ll probably have gone back to bed long before you return.”
Eh? She doesn’t care? I’m a child you know! You can show a little concern for me, even if you know that I’m more intelligent than I look!
Still, it made her job easier, so she simply stumble-walked through the chapel until she reached the front door. As she pushed it open and put one foot outside, she momentarily paused, then turned back to the old woman.
“Um… who exactly are you?”
“Heh.” Brunhilde let out a small laugh at her question and shook her head slightly. “I’m nobody, girl. Just an old woman who’s seen more than her fair share of strangeness over the years. Go on.”
Left with those somewhat cool-sounding words from the nun, Micah nodded and exited the church.
-----
The darkened, lamplit streets seemed so much more imposing at night, especially since she was on her own two feet and not being carried by Bernadetta or someone else.
Wherever they’d gone, it was certainly going to be a long trip to find them.
And on that note, how was she going to find them anyway? It had been hours since that incident, and they could have gone to any inn or tavern in town to stay the night. Or did they have their own homes?
No, she supposed the answer had been given to her earlier, during that last conversation.
“Please, do not try anything foolish. If you are still here by the time the workers arrive, I will not hesitate to have them smash this false church to smithereens with you in it. Good day.”
“‘False church’, huh…”
In terms of suspects, Micah had already built a catalogue in her head based on what she knew of the conmen. At first, it seemed they were only common thugs after some coin, but watching the woman, Miriam if she remembered correctly, swapping the property deed instead of taking Bernadetta’s money was extremely confusing.
Yet, it didn’t click with her that this was premeditated until they arrived at the church, and that fat guy took center stage using his position as a noble. That suggested that this wasn’t a random act, but that someone had planned this series of events from the start. And the big climax the ultimate end goal was to evict the nuns from the church.
But who would want to do something like that? The list got narrower. It was true that Micah didn’t know much about the personal lives of any of the nuns, or any enemies they might have, but there was one faction that she knew of that would potentially hold some kind of grudge against not just the nuns, but the Kindness of Nor in general.
And the ‘false church’ line all but confirmed it.
Micah’s steps were scattered and largely uncoordinated, but were filled with complete purpose as she headed for a certain location…
-----
“Well brother, that was a rather rousing success, wouldn’t you agree?” Barnabel smirked as he swished his glass of blood red wine in circles while facing both his brother and Miriam, who stood off to the side.
“I couldn’t agree more, brother,” replied Altheon from his seat across from him. Unlike Barnabel, he hadn’t indulged in wine, but was simply relaxing. “It was all thanks to your efforts, both in hiring a suitable accomplice as well as your performance in the grand finale. Because of you, all went without issue.”
“Oh you give yourself far too little credit. Without your stellar acting in the town hall, my end of things would never have gone quite so well.”
“Hahaha! Well I was only playing to my talents. We both were, I imagine.”
“And if we’re to speak of talents, then perhaps the grandest honor goes to dear Miriam here,” The brothers directed their gaze to Miriam, who shifted from one foot to the other while gripping her arm with her other hand, which in turn was holding a large pouch filled with coins.
“I agree. Her skill with her hands is befitting of her occupation as a professional thief. She could even aspire to become a Hero if ever the desire to follow a more righteous path should spring up within her.” Altheon said.
“...” Where one of her usual quips would have come, Miriam was instead completely silent. Altheon and Barnabel both noticed how she kept anxiously glancing at the door and biting her bottom lip.
Finally, Barnabel let out a sigh. “My dear, please don’t tell me that you’re still worried about what I think you’re worried about.”
“I-I’m telling you, there’s something weird about that kid! Why the hell did she look pissed off along with the rest of those bitches?! She shouldn’t have understood half of the shit you were saying! A-And then she was glaring at me at the town hall, before we’d even done anything!”
“Miriam, it’s a child,” Barnabel said. “I’m sure it just sensed the mood and copied its mother’s behavior. And what happened at the town hall can have been for any number of reasons. How do you even know she was staring at you and not, say, an insect?”
“No, you’re not listening to me,” she shouted. “I’m telling you that she’s not just a kid!”
“What then? Do you propose that she’s an adult trapped in the body of a child?” Altheon asked.
“I-I dunno… maybe?”
“Preposterous.” Barnabel scoffed and leaned back in his seat.
“I’m afraid I must agree. Surely you understand how implausible a notion that is as well, Miriam.”
“...”
Watching her glance back at the door once more, Barnabel abruptly sat up. “If a harmless infant truly frightens you so, then by all means flee. You’ve already been paid for your service, so there really is no need for you to remain here.”
“Yeah, true… Um, by the way. Wh- why do you guys want that deed thing so bad anyway? Wouldn’t it be better to just destroy it so that it can’t be recovered?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“Now brother, the poor woman at least deserves to know the purpose of the job she was hired for,” Altheon chastised. “And it isn’t as if the answer is anything so grand that it need be kept hidden from a thief bearing no motive to betray us, yes?”
“I suppose… there is no harm in it.” Barnabel relented. “However, I am rather famished, so I will leave the explanations to you, brother.”
“Indeed. Listen well, dear Miriam, for the truth lies in the very building we’re in right now...”
-----
The Disciples of Circe. It was the only thing that made sense, and as Micah approached the large door that would lead into the massive monastery’s main hall and heard muffled, but familiar voices inside, she felt more and more assured that she’d guessed correctly.
She prayed to Nor from the bottom of her heart that they hadn’t destroyed the deed. Thinking about it, there really wasn’t any reason not to, as it was the physical proof that Bernadetta owned the Church of Nor and was the one thing she needed to reclaim the property. All Micah could do was bet everything on the possibility that they hadn’t.
Well, either that or torturing them until they agreed to confess. But admittedly, she wasn’t very confident she could actually do that.
If they really didn’t destroy it, then she could only assume that the small, fat guy was the one who had it on his person, as he was the last one she’d seen it with after Miriam handed it over at the town hall.
So I just have to aim for that guy first. What was his name? Barnacle or something.
The door opened with an ominous swish, and Micah immediately noticed that the place was much nicer than Nor’s church not just with its outward appearance, but even in the small detail of a lack of door creaking. A small part of her heart stung a bit with jealousy, wondering why she hadn’t been left outside of this place instead of the smaller, shabbier church near the outskirts of town.
But she quickly shook that thought away when she remembered the faces of the people who’d been raising her all this time.
“Our Lady Circe is the one who issued the order to be rid of that false church.” She recognized the voice as the Altheon, the fucker who swindled Bernadetta earlier that day. “Brother and I were the ones most suitable for the task, and as such, we were chosen. Evidently, we did not disappoint.”
It sounded like they were in the middle of a conversation, so Micah decided to sneak her way to them and have a closer look.
“As for the purpose behind it all,” Altheon continued, oblivious to the two-year-old stealthily entering the room and ducking behind a pillar. “well, it would seem that this deed will serve as a rather important trophy for Her. She commanded us to keep it safe and hidden until She arrives from Regalia.”
“She was already on Her way when She sent the messenger bearing our orders, so fortunately we’ll only have a few days’ time to wait instead of the normal three weeks.” Barnabel added.
So these assholes were acolytes of that stupid Disciples of Circe after all. But… it sounds like they’re talking about their goddess like she’s a human being? Weird… More importantly, at least I know for sure that the deed wasn’t destroyed. Now to wait for a chance to strike…
“...” All of a sudden, Miriam fell into silence, her face paling.
“...What is it?” Altheon asked.
“...Fuck.”
““Eh?””
She swallowed, then slowly turned around. “I… I know you’re there, you fucking monster. Come on out!”
There was a pregnant pause as the two brothers feared she’d gone mad. But a few moments later, a response came. “...So you noticed me. I guess getting paid off for petty thievery isn’t your only talent.”
Barnabel flinched, a drop of sweat sliding down his cheek at the idea that someone had overheard them. “W-What? Who’s there?!”
Seeing that she’d been caught (and coming to the realization that she was awful at stealth), Micah decided to emerge from behind the pillar and face the three that had ruined her family’s lives in only a single day.
“See?! I told you that little shit wasn’t normal!” Miriam jabbed a finger in her direction, while the other two struggled to comprehend what they were seeing. “Just what the hell are you anyway? A demon? A Hero in disguise?”
Micah stood there in thought for a moment, mulling over her answer to the question. It didn’t take her long to come up with a suitable response.
“Well I suppose… for trash like you, that would make me-” She beamed, her words chilling as they were innocent. “The Cleaner~!”
“What, what in the world is happening?!” Altheon cried as both he and Barnabel jumped to their feet. “The Cleaner?! How are you even able to speak with such clarity?!”
“Who knows~ I’m just here for one thing and one thing only. You know what that is, don’t you Onii-chans, Onee-chan~?”
“Th-The deed!” Barnabel shouted. He quickly fished it out from his coat pocket and held it up for her to see. “This, right?! This is what you want? Then stay back!” He flinched as Micah took a small step forward. “Stay back or I’ll rip it to shreds right here and now.”
“If you do that, then I’ll just rip you to shreds right here and now~”
“Hiii~!!!” The man let out something like a quivering shout as he stumbled back.
Altheon, though looking flustered from the strange situation, spoke calmly with his hands extended out in front of him. “B-But I don’t understand. What are your reasons for doing this? What have we done to earn these threats?!”
“Ehhh~ and here I thought Onii-chan was the smart one. You reaaally don’t know why I’m here? Even a retarded monkey can understand when it’s done something wrong, you know?”
“I… Th-Then how about we negotiate? I’m sure we can work out favorable terms for both parties-”
“You seem to be really good at spouting out bullshit, Onii-chan~ Now I see how you were able to trick Mommy so easily. But if you keep flapping that tongue of yours, I might just wanna rip it out to shut you up, you know~?”
“...!!” Clenching his teeth at the imagery she put in his mind, Altheon reluctantly stayed quiet.
“Now then, I’m gonna give you tennnn seconds to-”
“Fuck it,” Miriam cut her off, leveling a pair of daggers from her belt in Micah’s direction. “This kid’s done nothing but talk since she got here. If she wanted to kill us, she’d have done it by now. She’s just trying to intimidate us.”
Altheon gulped, then took notice of the steadily-growing stain on his brother’s pants. “Well… By and large, it appears to be working-”
“You noble-types practice that fencing shit or whatever, right? Where’re your weapons?”
“Th-They’re right over there, but…”
“Then GET them and let’s rush this pipsqueak! It doesn’t matter what kind of magic she’s got, if the three of us take her on together, then we outnumber her!”
“Y-Yes… Yes, you’re right. Come, brother!”
Altheon quickly ran to grab a pair of fencing swords leaning against the wall and returned, passing one to Barnabel as he reluctantly got to his feet.
With the two brothers on her flanks, Miriam grinned. “So? What’s it gonna be, brat? There’s no way you can take the three of us on at the same time.”
...
…
Well shit.
Seeing that her attempt at bluffing them with creepy child threats failed, Micah took a deep breath. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t prepared for the possibility that things would turn into a fight, but she wasn’t confident she could follow through.
She was, after all, only vaguely aware of the power of “that”.
During her time practicing magic, she’d become aware of the fact that she had abysmally low mana. It was so pitifully minute that just by poking and prodding at it in her attempts to unlock some kind of affinity, she’d become tired and have to rest in a matter of minutes.
But she eventually discovered that by running her mana through her scarf, the one that had come with her from Earth, it resulted in a strange response. Eerily similar to when she spoke with God so long ago, it felt as if the scarf was “speaking” to her, communicating its will to her very soul itself.
And what it had to say blew her mind.
[Otherworldly Scarf]
[A scarf brought over from another world. Grants the wearer unique powers.]
[Ability - ??? Lv. 1]
[An Ability imbued into the scarf by [God]. The scarf grows through experience and its continual use. After a set amount of experience is gained, this Ability will level up.]
[Leveling up will increase its potential and capabilities.]
[Every ten levels, the wearer can select a new Ability.]
{Default Abilities}
[The wearer’s physical capabilities, reflexes, and senses are enhanced. These traits will increase further as [???] levels up.]
[The scarf acts as a translator, allowing the wearer to understand foreign languages, both verbally and visually.]
{Added Abilities}
[Free Slot]
[Unlocked at Lv. 10]
[Unlocked at Lv. 20]
[Unlocked at Lv. 30]
[Unlocked at Lv. 40]
[Unlocked at Lv. 50]
A game status window appeared inside of her head, showing her information about something called an ‘Ability’, and how it directly related to her scarf being able to ‘level up’. It seemed that the Ability in the scarf granted her two other Abilities, as well as the potential to create her own Ability every time she gained ten levels. Apparently, the strength and potential of all of the granted Abilities would increase every level too.
It was quite a lot to wrap her head around all of a sudden.
After mulling over the status window numerous times, Micah eventually gave up trying to understand it in full and decided to organize what information she could gain from it.
Firstly, God had been the one to do this. That much was obvious, and it was even mentioned in the Ability’s description as well. In that case, would it be right to say God “blessed” the scarf?
The moment she had that thought, there was a small *ping!* in her head, and the messages changed.
[Otherworldly Scarf]
[A scarf brought over from another world. Grants the wearer unique powers.]
[Ability - God’s Blessing Lv. 1]
[An Ability imbued into the scarf by [God]. The scarf grows through experience and the more it is used. After a set amount of experience is gained, this ability will level up.]
[Leveling up will increase its potential and capabilities.]
[Every ten levels, the wearer can select a new Ability.]
{Default Abilities}
[The wearer’s physical capabilities, reflexes, and senses are enhanced. These traits will increase further as [God's Blessing] levels up.]
[The scarf acts as a translator, allowing the wearer to understand foreign languages, both verbally and visually.]
{Added Abilities}
[Free Slot]
[Unlocked at Lv. 10]
[Unlocked at Lv. 20]
[Unlocked at Lv. 30]
[Unlocked at Lv. 40]
[Unlocked at Lv. 50]
That was when Micah realized another truth about the scarf. It seemed to be designed to mesh with her psyche, displaying information about itself in a way that was fairly simple for someone like her, who was by no means new to roleplaying games and status windows, to understand.
Somewhere deep in her mind, she could understand that this phenomenon was a lot like the formless being of God itself, changing to suit the comprehensive ability of whomever it was dealing with. That explained why it was organized in such a way.
Since then, she hadn’t messed with the scarf or even thought about creating a new Ability using the [Free Slot]. Without knowing how long it would take to increase [God’s Blessing] by ten levels, she absolutely didn’t want to risk creating a useless Ability when she could potentially need it in the future.
In circumstances like now, for example.
[Use [Free Slot] to create a new [Ability]?]
[Yes.]
[Please decide on the conditions of the [Ability]. Whether or not the conditions are accepted is dependent upon the current potential of [God’s Blessing].]
[Note: The potential of [God’s Blessing] is increased as it levels up.]
Okay, now this is a pain in the ass. I thought it would just kinda do it on its own or something!
Paling at the realization that this was a process that would take time, Micah took a sudden step back.
“What’s wrong, brat?” Miriam taunted as she guided the trio to advance. “Aren’t so big now, are we?”
It’s okay… I can do this… I just... need to think of something quick and easy. Something that can help me kick these guys’ asses all over the place. Yeah, some kind of combat Ability!
After thinking on it for a short while, Micah decided on what she felt were the perfect conditions.
[The scarf can be weaponized and attack enemies.]
Heh. How about that?
[Rejected.]
Ehhh?! WHY?!
All of a sudden, Miriam launched at her, daggers ready. Recoiling in fear, Micah gasped and just barely managed to throw herself out of the way.
“W-What the-?! How the hell did you dodge that, I had you dead to rights!” she barked.
“...???” Micah also didn’t think she would have been able to dodge Miriam’s strike, but somehow her body had moved before she even willed it to, and much faster than she should have been capable of. Was it the power of [God’s Blessing]?
That’s right! As long as I run my mana through the scarf, I can use the default Abilities! That should buy me some time to figure this stupid thing…
Dodging the next strikes were much easier once Micah got into the groove of things. In fact, she’d been missing this kind of movement ever since she was reincarnated. Her body was still only that of a child’s though, so she wasn’t able to move exactly the way she liked using muscle memory from her time as Mikasa, but it was still more than enough to keep out of the way of all three of their attacks.
“Damn it, hold still you fucking twerp!”
“H-How can a child move this fast?! She’s not even human!”
“W-What kind of monster…?!”
Now… let’s see… Let’s try-
[The scarf will defend Micah from threats.]
[Rejected.]
Eh? Was I too specific?
[The scarf will defend the wearer from threats.]
[Rejected.]
Hrrg! Then just tell me what’s acceptable and what’s not! Why the hell do I have to play this guessing game in the middle of a life-or-death situation?!
She quickly rolled out of the way as Altheon and Barnabel thrusted at the same time, nearly skewering each other in the process.
“Are you well, brother?” Barnabel asked.
“About as can be expected. She’s so much larger, but I feel hitting a rat would be a more realistic venture!” Altheon replied.
Rolling to a stop near the entrance, she pushed herself up as she once again tried to re-word the condition.
Alright… If something directly related to fighting is too much for Lv. 1, then how about…
[The scarf can be manipulated according to the wearer’s will.]
...something more broad and general? I’d have to be more roundabout with how I use it here, but-
[Accepted. A new [Ability] has been added to [God’s Blessing].]
[Otherworldly Scarf]
[A scarf brought over from another world. Grants the wearer unique powers.]
[Ability - God’s Blessing Lv. 1]
[An Ability imbued into the scarf by [God]. The scarf grows through experience and the more it is used. After a set amount of experience is gained, this ability will level up.]
[Leveling up will increase its potential and capabilities.]
[Every ten levels, the wearer can select a new Ability.]
{Default Abilities}
[The wearer’s physical capabilities, reflexes, and senses are enhanced. These traits will increase further as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]
[The scarf acts as a translator, allowing the wearer to understand foreign languages, both verbally and visually.]
{Added Abilities}
[The scarf can be manipulated according to the wearer’s will. Its potential length, as well as its offensive and defensive power, will increase as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]
[Unlocked at Lv. 10]
[Unlocked at Lv. 20]
[Unlocked at Lv. 30]
[Unlocked at Lv. 40]
[Unlocked at Lv. 50]
Phew, it finally worked. Though in actuality, I might have just screwed myself. If the scarf is as soft as normal, I can’t attack them directly. Then what else can I…
“Gotcha!”
“Huh?!”
Darting at her from behind, Miriam threw one of her daggers while gripping the other one tightly. Even with having caught only a small glimpse of it, Micah still easily ducked, allowing the weapon to pass over her head and stab into the far wall, nearly piercing the brothers along the way had they not leaped to opposite sides.
“Try dodging this on-... ah?” A sudden feeling of weightlessness overcame her, and as she glanced down, her heart jumped to see that she was quickly falling face first after the two long ends of Micah’s scarf had shot out, extending like spears to push her legs out from under her while she ran at full speed.
“What… the… KHHH!!!” Her chin smashed hard against the oak floor, rattling her head and forcing a spurt of blood out of her nose. Altheon and Barnabel quickly rushed to her aid as Micah dashed forward past them to the opposite wall where Miriam’s dagger had landed. As the scarf ends retracted to follow her, one swerved around to grip the hilt and wrench it free.
“This should do~” the child sang sweetly as she turned back to them.
“Brother!”
“I’m on it,” Barnabel responded to Altheon’s call and fell behind him whilst he readied his sabre. As he prepared to act as a shield wall, Barnabel crouched down to the writhing Miriam’s side. “Miriam, are you well-”
*Sp’lurch*
Cutting him off was the sound of metal biting into flesh. Shocked, his eyes fell to his own foot, which Miriam, who had gone still, had suddenly impaled with her remaining dagger.
“G… GYAHHHHHH?!?!?!?!”
“Brother?! Gah!” Hearing his brother’s cries, Altheon turned back, only to be stabbed in the hand and pushed to the side by the scarf ends. As Micah scooped up his dropped sword, Barnabel let out another agonized scream as Miriam ground the dagger further into the floorboards.
“M-Miriam!!! Why…! Why are you…!” Altheon called while gripping his injured hand. His eyes widened with horror as Miriam jumped to her feet, revealing the wide grin on her face framed by the stream of blood running from her nose.
“Hahaha! My old man’s given me worse hits to the face than that, you dumbasses!” She gave the dagger one more good stomp to bury it to the hilt, eliciting another horrifying cry from Barnabel, then turned toward the door. “Hope you two enjoy the taste of hell! That’s what you get for messing with a demon!”
“Miriam, you madwoman! You were the one who suggested we combat her in the first place!!!” Altheon shouted, his face turning red from anger.
“Hah?! You really think I was serious about taking that monster on?! Get real, moron!” She roughly jabbed her index finger into her temple, giving Altheon an incredulous look. “I only did that to get you idiots in a position to be my bait! Everyone knows demons can’t resist the smell of blood and fear, so sucks to be you assholes, but I’m outta here!”
“Damn it…! MIRIAM!!!” Altheon pushed himself to his feet as he called after the fleeing woman angrily.
Then a sudden voice came from beside him. “She’s right, you know.”
“E-Eh?!”
“You guys did have this coming for what you did to my family. But you know what I hate even more than conmen...”
“Huh…?” It was then that he noticed that the ends of her scarf were pointing straight ahead of her. Turning towards the entrance where Miriam had run for, his eyes widened to see her skewered through the side of her neck and her torso by both the dagger and his own sabre.
She let out a gurgling groan, a disbelieving look on her bloodied face. “E..h… Wh...a… W...hy… m...e...e…. Gllggh…!”
“Fucking cowards.” Micah finished as she roughly yanked both weapons out and tossed them to the floor. Gritting her teeth, she marched up to the twitching woman as she collapsed helplessly and glared down at her. “I hate people like you the most! Cowards who run away when things get a little tough! Coward! Why do we have to die for your selfishness?! Do you think that’s right?! Do you honestly think it’s okay to sacrifice others so that you can continue living?! Well, do you?! Coward, coward, coward! You COWARD!!!”
As Altheon gently removed the dagger from Barnabel’s foot, he turned to watch the frantically yelling child with a look of wonder on his face.
“...And if you would honestly put your own life over the lives of others; if you really are the kind of person who doesn’t have anything worth protecting other than their own selfish interests...”
I love you, Onee-chan. No matter what, that won’t ever change. Okay?
Miriam’s throaty gasps and twitching began to fade with her consciousness, just in time to hear the final words of a girl many years older than the child staring down at her with disdain. “...then you should just go and die like the coward you are.”
-----
With Miriam having passed away, Micah stared coldly down at her corpse for a few moments before finally turning her attention to the two brothers, who flinched when they made eye contact.
“P-P-P-Please don’t kill us, Miss,” Barnabel begged, still crouched and holding his foot tenderly. “I can give you anything you want. Money? Power? Victims? Name it. Just please, spare our lives!”
“If a sacrifice must be made to sate your bloodthirst, then I would volunteer myself,” Altheon said with a polite bow. “Brother is too important for this town to lose, so I humbly ask that you spare at least him.”
“Brother! What are you-?!”
“Be quiet, fool,” he hissed, then returned to his respectful bow.
“...” Micah gave them both a silent stare as she considered them.
I only came here to get the deed back and scare them a bit, not to kill anyone. I shouldn’t have let myself get so overcome with emotion like I did… If the others find out I did this, what would they think of me? I should just get the deed and get out of here before someone notices what’s happened.
“...I don’t know why you guys did what you did, and I don’t care. Just give me what I came here for. If you do, I’ll spare you both.”
“I-I’m sorry, but we can’t- Nyeh?!” Barnabel recoiled as one scarf end slithered into his coat and removed the document hidden in there. “Wait! Y-You can’t-”
“Please, accept it as a token of our gratitude for sparing our lives, along with an apology for any trouble we’ve caused you. We will do so no longer.” Altheon quickly interrupted.
“I hope you’re telling the truth. Because if you or anyone related to you tries to mess with those nuns again, I’ll be back. And next time, there won’t just be one body.” Leaving them with those chilling words, Micah quickly made her way out of the building and ran straight back to the church as fast as her legs could carry her.
And she nearly didn’t make it, for those same legs gave out the moment she set foot in the chapel. Panting heavily, her body shivered as she felt her strength leaving it, returning her back to the weak two-year-old she was before she’d left.
Damn… I just barely got back before I ran out of mana. Looks like I can only keep that up for a short while. Ngh… So this is the ‘Mana Depletion’ I read about in that book… It really hurts...
“Are you alright?” came Brunhilde’s voice from the other end of the room. When Micah didn’t respond, she quietly approached and scooped her up. “You recovered the deed like you said, but you don’t look as well as I expected.”
“I’m… f-fine…”
“I see. In that case, you have my thanks. This church means a lot to all of us, myself included, so being able to keep it is all any of us can ask for. Shall I take you back to your room?”
Micah nodded, and Brunhilde gently cradled her as they walked.
“Welcome home, Micah.”
“I… I’m, h-home… Grammy...”
-----
“Eh… It’s really the real thing…”
The next morning, the nuns were more than a little surprised to see that the matter had been resolved overnight. Henrietta in particular, as she stared at the sheet in her hands.
“I found it this morning, left on the steps,” said Brunhilde coolly. “It seems that an anonymous individual has attacked the Disciples of Circe monastery, slaying a young woman and wounding two acolytes. Afterwards, they recovered the stolen property deed and brought it here.”
“Hmm, so all of that happened last night?” Henrietta asked as she listened to Brunhilde’s recount. “Well I’m still a bit confused, but serves ‘em right. Those jerks got what was coming to them.”
“More importantly, with the deed, Miss Bernadetta can prove that she’s the real owner, right?!” Josefine was bouncing with joy as she gripped one of Bernadetta’s hands in both of her own. “Isn’t that great?! Everything’s gonna be alright now!”
“Yeah, I’m so glad… Ah, that’s right! I have to go run this to the town hall. Can someone hold her?”
“Give her here,” answered Brunhilde. Bernadetta whispered her thanks as she placed Micah onto her lap and quickly left the church.
As the other two continued to revel in shock, confusion, relief, and joy, Micah silently spoke to Brunhilde. “I thought you said you wouldn’t help me. Why make up a lie like that?”
“Hmm…” She thought on it for a moment, then said, “Why not? They look happy enough. But I suppose you can also consider it my thanks for what you’ve done for us. Even if they’ll never come to know the truth about you, I want you to know that we’re all grateful.”
Micah smiled. It felt really, really nice being thanked for doing such a good deed.
“By the way,” Brunhilde continued. “How exactly did someone with your body defeat three adults? I can’t picture it no matter how many times I try.”
In response to her questioning look, Micah decided to mess with her a bit, and activated [God’s Blessing].
Slowly, the ends of her scarf began to lift up until they became level with her head. As she reached a hand up to hold one affectionately, she knew then and there that she would never forget the look on Brunhilde’s face as she said what she did next.
“Oh, that? I guess you could say I… had some helping hands.”
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