No More Members

Her eyes still hadn’t gotten used to the darkness. Charlotte was slowly walking with both hands outstretched, searching for the way.

“Surprise!”

A couple of bright Magica lights blinded her. All her friends welcomed her with large amounts of all kinds of food.

“Happy birthday, Miss Charlotte!”

“What’s this?”

“A surprise party! We heard it's common in other kingdoms.”

Zoe led her to the seat at the head of the table.

“I hope you like it.”

“I thought it was stupid.”

Zoe shot Alysia an angry look.

“Of course, thanks, everyone.”

A warmth filled Charlotte’s heart. She smiled from ear to ear and couldn’t stop laughing. She had been through a lot and was aware there was still a long way to go, but at that moment, her mind put all those worries aside.

Zoe placed the cake right in front of her and put a small candle on top of it.

“What’s that?”

“A cake just for you.”

“What’s that thing on top?”

“A mere candle.”

She had to use a piece of flint imbued with fire Magica to light it.

“You have to blow it and make a wish.”

“Why?”

“I heard ancient civilizations believed that the remaining smoke carried the dreams to the gods.”

After she listened to that, her eyes began to sparkle. A million wishes flashed through her mind.

“Maybe I can wish to be the greatest heroine of all time.”

She thought and thought. Finally, she closed her eyes and inhaled as much air into her mouth as she could.

“Bastion…”

The memory of an old friend came to mind. Charlotte paused for a few moments and finally made a wish.

“Can it really come true?”

“Who knows…”

“Of course not. Those are dumb ideas.”

Zoe rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Charming as always, Lens.”

The group sat down to eat the feast they had prepared for Charlotte. They talked about many things, and for her, time just flew by.

“By the way, why are there so many seats?”

“Well, we announced your party throughout the academy.”

“Why?”

Before the prince could answer, their pleasant conversation was interrupted. A flood of students had gathered just to see him. The crowd began to call out and ask about Arthur.

“I’m sorry about that. I’ll take care of them.”

“I can’t leave you alone,” Gerald said.

“Happy birthday, Miss Charlotte.”

After congratulating her, they both left the room. In a split second, they disappeared into the crowd.

“He is really popular, even though he’s the second prince.”

“I guess he is.”

“Bad luck, Charlotte. You won’t have him today.”

She blushed.

“What are you saying?”

After chatting for a while, Zoe checked her pockets, searching for something.

“Excuse me, I forgot something.”

Zoe left the room, leaving Charlotte and Alysia alone. Everything went silent. Charlotte started gazing at her repeatedly. On the outside, she was calm, but inside, she thought of a million things to talk about.

“I heard him.”

Alysia was the one who broke the silence.

“I’m sorry… What?”

“Bastion… during the training, I could hear him.”

“I see.”

Charlotte couldn’t avoid a smile.

“C-could you… Help me?”

Alysia approached Bastion near them.

“Sure.”

Charlotte heard Bastion’s words, and she repeated them exactly.

“Thanks for showing me that spell again. It was incredible!”

Alysia covered her face to hide her tears.

“It had always been my favorite.”

“I know… You’ve always been afraid of lightning.”

“That’s not true!” Bastion said, feeling embarrassed.  

Charlotte couldn't help but let out a little giggle when she heard them.

“Thank you… Charlotte.”

She just smiled. A warm feeling washed over her. It had been a long time since she'd called her a curse.

Zoe came back with a small box. She saw Alysia wiping away her tears, but decided not to ask. In a way, she understood it wasn’t something of concern to her.

“Here you are. Open it.”

Charlotte carefully opened the box. Inside, there was a clock with a wooden frame. At first glance, it already gave off an air of ostentation.

“I love it. Thanks, Zoe!”

“Don’t mention it. I built it at my father's factory.”

“I appreciate it. It’s my first time receiving a gift.”

Zoe sensed a certain sadness in Charlotte.

“Now you really outdid yourself, Hufgens,” said Alysia jokingly. “I hope to receive something like that on my birthday.”

“Who knows… We’ll see how you behave.”

Alysia was surprised by her response. “In that case, I guess I won’t bother you much anymore.”

The three of them kept chatting. Zoe and Charlotte led the conversation, while Alysia chimed in with a few words now and then.

Abruptly, a young man slammed the door. Charlotte jumped in fright.

“Is this Classroom 1A?”

“No… I’m sorry that classroom doesn’t even exist.”

“Oh, sorry.”

A tall student stood still in the doorway. He didn’t say anything more, and he just stared at them for a few minutes.

“I love cake!”

“Well, you can have some.”

Without a second thought, he took a huge bite. He sat down and began stuffing his face so quickly that it was amazing he didn't choke.

“It’s delicious.”

The three young ladies fell silent and looked at one another.

After a couple of minutes, the young stranger finally finished his dessert. He had food all over his mouth. Zoe kindly offered him a napkin.

“So what’s this?”

“Eh…” Zoe hesitated with her words. “It’s her birthday.”

The young man stood up and ran straight over to Charlotte.

“Happy birthday, miss,” he said as he took her hand and shook it enthusiastically.

“T-thank you,” said Charlotte.

Alysia kept a close eye on his every move.

“So, you need something else?”

“Not really.”

Again, the room went silent.

Alysia kept her arms crossed and let out a sigh.

The young man noticed her attitude.

“I feel I’m interrupting something, so I’ll leave.”

“Wait!”

Charlotte stopped him.

“What are you doing?”

“Would you like to join our party?”

“What? We don’t need somebody else.”

Alysia tapped the table lightly with both hands.

“Actually, I believe we'll need one more.”

“But not someone we don't know and who turns out to be strange.”

Alysia realized what she had said and took a breath. She turned to look at the strange young man.

“I’m sorry… It’s just…”

“I understand. To be fair, I’ve been rejected 10 times… 11 with this one.”

“What? Why?”

“Let me show you.”

The young man stood up from his seat, stepped back, and took a book from his bag. He quickly flipped through the pages, pausing at a few to read under his breath. He repeated the process for a few pages.

“Found it.”

He held the book in one hand and, with the other, pulled out a wand, no more than 30 centimeters long.

“Mirage Magica. Lure.”

The wand started releasing sparkling dust onto the table. In the blink of an eye, that sparkling dust turned into a rabbit. Charlotte and Zoe gasped in amazement.

The rabbit walked slowly toward Charlotte and pulled a box with a bow from its shiny fur. She tried to grab the little box the rabbit was offering her, but it immediately vanished along with the rabbit.

“What happened?”

“So, you use Mirage Magica,” said Alysia, who was trying to hide her amazement.

“That’s right…That’s the main reason people don’t like me.”

Charlotte tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

“His Magica type is well known for deceit and lies."

“I’m afraid so…”

The young man looked downcast.

“I don’t really like to trick or lie to people…”

“That's the problem with your Mirage Magica… We can never know what's true.”

The young man reached into his bag and pulled out a large silver coin. He kindly handed it to Charlotte.

“That coin… means a lot to me… If I ever betray you, destroy it.”

“What? A simple coin, really?”

“Some things go beyond the ordinary. Something as simple as a coin can mean everything to someone. Haven't you ever felt that way?”

The words struck Alysia right in the heart, and she looked at Bastion.

“But I understand your feelings… You really care for them.”

Alysia turned red.

“What? Of course not! I—I…”

The young man stood and was about to leave the room.

“Wait…I believe we can trust you.”

“Are you sure about this, Charlotte?”

Zoe looked at Alysia for support, but she just turned away.

“I don’t care. I’ll keep an eye on him anyway,” Alysia simply said. 

“Yes, you can join us.”

The young man began jumping for joy and thanking them.

“I can’t believe it. This is my first time joining a party!”

Out of nowhere, he looked at himself.

“I need to get ready. I can't show up like this on my first day. With your permission, it was a pleasure.”

Without saying anything else, he put his things away and left the room. After a few seconds, he came rushing back and stood in front of the door.

“My name is Leifson Wilde, but you can call me Leif.”

“Wait, your coin!”

“As I said, I'm leaving it up to you.”

"But—"

"It's fine. I only used to play hide-and-seek with my siblings." He paused for a second. "Maybe you'll find another use for it later!" 

Charlotte examined the coin. She read an inscription that said, “To the best brother in the world,” which put her mind at ease.