The City of Zenith

Second year mechanical engineering student Minichi is the vocalist of the band “Petal Youth” along with her batchmates Rimi and Hataki. Within one-and-a-half of their debut, they managed to secure their spot at the Budokan. On the big day, the band members and their manager Ms Telly got in an accident and Minichi got teleported into a medieval world. The king took her in as the guest of highest honour as she was prophesied to end the 950 year old war. But Minichi couldn’t fit in this world and according to the prophecy, she can’t return until she fulfills her duty.

Mana beasts suddenly attacked the town one night wrecking havoc. Minichi was sent to the city of Zenith, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting Lilith and the Royal Researcher of Magic, Mobi. They found Cicilia crying on the road with her son Saito in her laps, her house was smashed and her husband Deiter killed by the monsters. Deiter and Mobi used to be adventurers in the past. They took Cicilia and Saito with them. The next morning, they encountered giant heron-like beasts scavenging upon travellers who couldn’t fight them. Although they managed to escape unharmed, Minichi suffered a mental breakdown. When they finally reached Zenith, Mobi was taken into custody by the border guards without any reason.

“I wonder why they took Prof Mobi away? We didn’t break any rules, did we?” Cicilia is concerned. All of them were staring at the guard-station gate, waiting for Mobi. A few other carriages were parked nearby, probably for a similar reason. Behind them was a wide crop field against a mountain backdrop. A massive stone wall encircled the City of Zenith in front of them with a tall metallic half-opened portcullis beside the guard station.

“Oh, there he is,” Lilith exclaimed as Mobi came out of the gate, smirking. A few men were behind him and the people from the other carriages ran to them. Minichi got out of the carriage too. A guard came running to collect those standing outside and ran towards the portcullis. “Is this another attack?” Minichi wondered.

“Let’s go!” Mobi got in and closed the door. He felt a questioning gaze on him from his carriage-mates. “These guards detain wealthy looking travellers to rip them off. The chief recognized me and panicked. He’s got a good eye for trouble.” Mobi smirked a little, “But all of them are going to be fired.” Minichi couldn’t help but notice the similarity to her world. “Well, corruption is everywhere I guess.” she exclaimed. “Not in Bordeus” Mobi was proud of his kingdom. “Our kingdom doesn’t have any corruption. Zenith seems to be lacking. Not a very good first impression I presume?” All of them had a soft smile on their faces as if a heavy weight was lifted off their chest. Smiles indeed help the mood.

“I feel like all these months here have been squeezed into three chapters of a book. Things happened so fast, I didn't have any time to process” Minichi sighed. They passed through a lively marketplace. Children running around. Shopkeepers hawking their wares. Music performances. A lot of things were happening around them. The coachman mentioned that his family lived nearby and that he grew up in Zenith. He pointed out various places he was fond of. “If you just walk right from that diner over there,” he pointed out, “you’ll find my brother’s shop”. The gloomy mood of the carriage improved over time. Cicilia couldn’t help but smile at Saito’s cheerfulness. The soft sunlight felt like reflecting the mood of the carriage.

They were escorted to the emperor from the palace gate. “Howdy folks? Finally, it’s Minichi! The talk of the continent. I’m Gabriel Goldwater. You can call me Gabe." The emperor was delighted to see the pack. He was a middle-aged man with a beard and a moustache, well built, tall and had a deep but gentle voice. “You must be hungry, please help yourself with dinner at the dining table” He showed them to the dining hall where a feast was arranged for them.

“How did he know we were coming? Wasn’t this very sudden?” Minichi asked Mobi.

“Psychic magic”

After dinner, they all sat down with the emperor. “So Miss Minichi, are you ready to join the Magic University?” the emperor asked. Minichi was lost. The emperor looked at Mobi. “Did he not tell you? We figured training at the University will help you to quickly become the legendary mage you’re prophsied to be. The excellent professors and researchers are very capable of turning rookies into invincible adventurers, not to mention, you have the prophecy on your side.”.

“But.. but.. this is so sudden. I still don’t know how I will be of any use to you without any mana or battle skills.” Minichi stammered. Emperor Gabe’s excitement did not resonate with her.

“That’s what the University is for,” Mobi added.

“Yes, and I was told you were a University student in your own world so you must feel at home...” Gabe was interrupted.

“But this is not my home!” Minichi screamed. She was hysterical again. “You all are putting so much on me but you never listen to me. I don’t want to do any of this if that doesn’t guarantee my return. Mobi told me teleportation magic works only in this world and that too is very limited by the mana capacity of the caster. I mean, isn’t that the reason we travelled here on a carriage? If Mobi, one of the strongest mages, doesn't have enough mana to teleport two people from Bordeus to Zenith, how can I believe that doing any of these will help me return?”

This was not a reaction Emperor Gabe was expecting. All the people who were offered admission to the Zenith University of Magic were overjoyed. “Well, we certainly can’t force you to study at the University and it is true that none of us know how to teleport to another world. But that could be because we are not aware of their existence. But the prophecy does say that the saviour returns after the war ends. So, helping us win the war seems to be the only way to return. And we certainly don’t understand you.“ Emperor Gabe looked concerned. “Why don’t you take some time to think about this?”

She just doesn’t understand why everyone was expecting so much from herself. On one hand, she has lost everything she had and has no idea how to return. On the other hand, she doesn’t have any skills to survive in this world. All she can perform are basic spells. She visited the hot water bath to cool down. She was soon joined by Lilith and Cicilia. Cicilia put Saito to bed after dinner and came to the bath with Lilith.

“Oh Miss Minichi, you’re here too. Huh? Is everything alright?” Lilith asked. Minichi swayed her head. “They are asking me to study at the University. But they seem to be totally ignorant of the fact I don’t have any mana. No matter how much I train, I can’t fulfil their expectations."

“I too have very little mana, Miss Minichi. But still, I am your lady-in-waiting.” Lilith smiles. “But that’s fine for a lady-in-waiting.” Minichi denies her comparison.

“Miss Minichi, you don’t know who a lady-in-waiting is, do you?” Cicilia interrupted. “To become a lady-in-waiting, you have to be a minimum of grade 7 mage and must have minimum grade 5 level swordfighting skills. Your lady-in-waiting is not any ordinary woman. Am I not right, Lilith?” Cicilia smiles.

“What level are you Lilith?” Minichi is curious.

“Can’t we not focus on me? Can we?” Lilith blushed.

“No you have to tell. I am too curious now.” Minichi leaned in closer.

“Well, I am a grade 9 mage and grade 7 swordswoman. It’s not like it’s very rare though.” Lilith was trying her best to brush this off.

Minichi was flabbergasted. She didn’t expect her lady-in-waiting to be so skilled.

“But you know, I don’t think that matters. Despite having such qualifications, I couldn’t even console you when you needed it. I’m really sorry, Miss Minichi.”

“Umm mm, don’t worry about that. But now I’m more interested to know more about my lady-in-waiting.”

This interaction seemed to have dawned over Minichi. So much so that she began practicing her spells in the evening. She knows only ordinary elementary spells that Mobi taught her for attack and defense. But she felt her spells have a kick to them today as if she’s motivated.

“Looks like your mana levels are improving” an old voice spoke to her. “What? I don’t even have mana?” Minichi turned around to reply. It was an old man. “Hmm? But I can clearly see your mana. It’s very faint but not non-existent” he stood behind her.