Chapter 1: Chitchat in the Garden of Fiction

From Worldsofharuhi

Celestia - Fantasia Academy: Campus Garden

Kelona was enjoying her tea break in the campus garden. Reason being was that the entrance exam for the new students was scheduled to be later on today. The examiner of this exam would usually be Kanata Izumi, but unfortunately, she had been sent on a mission a few months ago. That being the case, the next capable person from the academy had to take Kanata’s place; the next capable person was apparently Kelona herself.

Kelona sighed and thought to herself. ‘What a bother. Aren’t I the vice commander? Why do I have to watch over little kids?’ Angry, Kelona gulped down whole cup of hot black tea in matter of seconds.

“That’s a very inelegant way of drinking tea don’t you think?” A voice sounded from the other side of the table. Kelona glanced at the direction of where the voice came from. At first, there was nothing to be seen, but after a few moments, the form of a young girl materialized.

“Why are you here?” Kelona asked, not looking interested at all. The name of the girl who has just appeared was Rewrite.

Rewrite is a higher being which originates from a realm beyond Celestia. It could be easily understood if you think of it as a heaven beyond heaven. No one knows why such a being like Rewrite would come down from the higher realm. However, all Rewrite ever does is to look for something fun to do. It is speculated that she came down just because she was bored.

“I heard that something interesting will be going down here today.” Rewrite grinned. Rewrite’s expression resembled a child who found a new place to play.

“So even you came to watch the exam.”

“Of course.”

Kelona sighed deeply. “I don’t know why the exam is so popular this year; it was only the parents or the relatives who would come to watch in the previous years.”

Rewrite tilted her head in confusion. “You really don’t know why all the people are gathering? It’s because of you. You are pretty famous in Celestia.”

“I am?”

“The great vice commander of the Sliders who brought peace to Celestia, is what I hear often about you.”

Rewrite thought for a moment then added “Although not as great as me.”

Kelona laughed lightly. “Of course not. I’d have to wait about few thousand years before I can get anywhere close to you.”

“That’s right.” Rewrite said proudly.

“Say Kelona, do you want to have a match? It’s been a while right?” Rewrite asked.

Kelona wanted to show this girl who was so full of herself that she wasn’t as strong as she thought. However, today was a bad day.

“I can’t have a match right now; you should know how exhausting the job of examiner will be. I have to conserve my energy.”

“Aww, that’s too bad.” Rewrite said in a disappointed tone.

Kelona still felt like having some kind of friendly competition with Rewrite so she asked. “But if you are interested, want to have a little bet?”

“Sure, that sounds fun; but what kind of bet?” Rewrite, who was filled with disappointment a moment ago, regained her cheerfulness.

“We both choose a student from the list of students who are taking the exam. If your student ranks higher in the exam then you win, and vice versa.”

“Interesting, I like it!” Rewrite was the type who enjoyed almost everything that life could throw at you. So she agreed right away. “But what prize does the winner get?”

“How about doing whatever the winner tells you to?” Kelona suggested.

“Good idea, bring me that list of students!” Rewrite said excitedly.

“Mind if I join in on the bet too?” Another voice was heard, this being a bit sharper.

Suddenly the air inside the garden seemed to get colder, and then with a gust of snow, another person arrived in the garden.

“Whoa, what are you doing all the way down here?” Rewrite asked the newcomer.

A female with snow white hair sat down adjacent to Kelona. Contrary to Rewrite’s reaction, Kelona wasn’t surprised at her sudden appearance. After all, it was Kelona herself that invited this person in the first place.

“North, how long has it been?” Kelona said while she held up her hand over the table. With a glow of purple light, a new teacup appeared. The teacup was already filled with black tea. Neither Rewrite nor North was surprised by this. They both knew that Kelona was a witch.

“It would be about fifteen years. The capital sure is beautiful, you never see this many vegetation up north.” North spoke while looking around the garden.

“Every region in Celestia has its own unique beauty. Northern regions have its snowfalls and glaciers right?” Kelona praised Northern regions of Celestia. Kelona would prefer nice cool winter right now rather than the hot summer Central Celestia was having.

“Hey Kelona, did you forget about the bet?” Rewrite tried to put the conversation back on topic. Rewrite didn’t really care about the scenery or where she lived. As long as the place had something fun to do, she’d stay there, no questions asked. Nature and Scenery talk was boring.

“Ah, the bet.” Kelona stopped dreaming about the cool winter. She then waved her hand once more and three books appeared.

“This is the catalogue for all the students precipitating in the exam. The details of their ability levels are written beside their names.” Kelona explained.

“Alright, let’s see if I can find some promising candidate.” Rewrite picked up her catalogue and started browsing. However, North sat and continued drinking tea.

“I thought you were going to join in on the bet?” Kelona asked North.

North smiled slightly. “Oh, I am. I already have someone in mind.” North turned her gaze to the figure beside her. There was a small teenage girl that Kelona and Rewrite didn’t notice before. Was she there ever since North arrived? The girl hid behind North as if she was scared of Kelona and Rewrite.

“Oh, who’s the kid?” Rewrite asked but Kelona already had a vague idea of who this girl was.

“She’s my daughter. Her name is Solipse.”

An awkward silence fell between the three. It was Rewrite who broke the silence with a loud yell.

“You have a daughter!?”

“Well, to be more precise, she’s my step daughter. We divines aren’t allowed to marry, but we have no rules against adoption.” North explained while petting her daughter’s head.

Kelona remembered this little girl from fifteen years ago. She was the only survivor of a certain town that was attacked during the war against the demons. All of the villagers except her turned into demons after the attack. North, who was helping out the sliders at the time, saved this girl before she too was killed by the demons.

North was the only one there at the time so Kelona didn’t know the exact details. All Kelona knew was that when North returned, she was carrying a small girl that she had saved.

“She’s also currently head priestess at my temple, what do they call priestesses in the southern regions again? Ah, miko right?” North finished the introduction of her daughter.

“So she’s entering the exams too?” Kelona asked.

“Yes, though she’s a bit on the shy side, she’s pretty skilled.” When North said that, Solipse bowed her head, clearly embarrassed. She probably didn’t like the attention she was getting.

Kelona searched the catalogue for those who were taking the exam and found the name Solipse.

“Ah found it; name, Solipse North. Your special powers are ice manipulation right? You passed the regional exams with an A+, that’s impressive.”

“Oh- Thank you.” Solipse turned even redder from the compliment.

“So you’re betting on her North? Then all I have to do is find someone with better scores than A+ right?” Rewrite said while flipping through the examinee catalogues.

“Rewrite, A+ is the highest score possible.” Kelona said bitterly, amazed at how uninformed Rewrite was about Slider matters.

“Really? Don’t they have scores like A++?” Rewrite complained.

“Well, you better choose someone fast; I have to go prepare for the exam soon.” Kelona urged while putting away her list of students.

“What, you’re done choosing already?” Rewrite was displeased from being last in deciding who to bet on.

“Of course, I was going to choose him even if he didn’t have excellent grades. After all, he has made a promise with me some time ago.” Kelona said as she started putting away her tea set.

“So, both of you knew who you were going to bet for; not fair.” Rewrite was now frantic; she was flipping through the catalogue even more rapidly. Then, she saw a familiar face. Although Rewrite never cared about Celestian residents she interacted with, there were few occasions where she did meet some interesting individuals.

‘Yes, she could probably beat Solipse easily, I don’t know who Kelona chose, but it’s not likely that someone stronger than this girl can exist in the whole exam.’ Rewrite thought while making sure the picture was of the same kid that she had met a few years ago.

“Alright, I think I’ll go with her.” Rewrite announced. However, North and Kelona, even Solipse was already deep in conversations with each other, completely forgetting the fact that Rewrite was there.

“Ah, I think Rewrite-san is done.” Solipse was the first to realize that Rewrite was done choosing.

“Took you long enough Rewrite. Well Solipse-chan, you might want to go to the main lobby now. All examinees are to gather there before the exam. I’ll take you there myself.” Kelona got off her seat.

“Yes, sure.” Solipse was now more comfortable being around Kelona after few short conversations.

“Good luck.” North told Solipse.

“I’ll try my best.” Solipse stood to follow Kelona.

Just before Kelona turned to leave, Rewrite asked. “What kind of exam did you prepare?”

Kelona smiled slyly then answered Rewrite’s question with another question. “Do you know the story behind the 12 Chinese Zodiacs?” After leaving Rewrite clueless, Kelona turned to walk away. Solipse followed her quickly.

Rewrite turned to North then asked. “What’s did she mean by Chinese Zodiacs?” North shrugged, clueless herself.