Bookbound Bunny: Chapter 4 - 6

Chapter 4 - Bunny

Lily sighed somberly as she watched the other children play. She was carefully seated in the shade of a tree to protect her extremely fair skin. Nowadays, they didn't even try to persuade her to join them anymore; they had long given up after numerous attempts that either had her collapse when she tried to keep up, or they had to slow their pace far too much for their liking. Her long bunny ears drooped in disappointment.

As if her frail constitution and antagonism from the sun weren't bad enough, she was severely underdeveloped for a girl her age. Her limbs were too short, and she had stubby fingers; she felt more like a Gnome out of some fairytale than a Lagia. She enviously watched the other Lagia run circles around the other children. Supposedly, her mom was a great adventurer, as was traditional for her kind, and in her darkest moments, Lily couldn't help but wonder if she regretted having her.

Like the other kids here, Lily was an orphan, but they were given a much more optimistic position against the norm of poor and underfunded facilities. This orphanage catered to the children abandoned by high-profile individuals and, most notably, to adventurers who either refused to settle down or, unfortunately, died in the line of duty. Lily's mom was wounded while pregnant with her, and a premature birth was forced. She traded her life to save Lily's, and her father, outraged and grief-struck, left; never to be seen again.

If Lily had even half her mother's potential, she would have received a wonderful education as a future adventurer, hunter, or scout for the army. Lagia were renowned for their speed and agility. If she were born of a different race, she'd have other opportunities, like Rose, who would be sent to magic school in two years.

Rose was her "older sister" here at the orphanage. She was a mighty Dragia with beautiful red scales decorating her limbs, and a fiery personality to match. Dragia, unlike Lagia, were mighty in physical strength and magic, as their dragon heritage gave them much in life. Lily couldn't help but be jealous in her weaker moments, as her heritage only gave her some "cute" rabbit ears. If Lagia at least had magical blood, she would have had an option to fall back on, but fate was not so kind.

Non-humans had become a majority of the population, and it seemed like a new half-race was discovered almost every decade or two. The broad races were eventually called Demihumans, later shortened to Demis, for everyone's convenience. Despite Lagia and Dragia both falling under the Demi umbrella, the difference between them couldn't be further apart!

Lily was suddenly startled as she heard one of the orphanage staff approaching from behind. Her head swung around in a bit of a panic to be met by Margit's kind and motherly face. Lily instantly relaxed.

"Sorry for giving you a fright, Lily." Margit apologized.

"It's okay, Margit," Lily replied.

"Have you thought about what type of education you want?" Margit asked before looking a little somber. "I hate to keep asking, but rather one you at least partially like than something forced upon you."

Lily had been avoiding answering them for as long as possible. She kept hoping something would happen, that she'd get an unexpected growth spurt and be able to follow in her mother's footsteps.

"I don't know... Do you have any suggestions for me?" Lily asked.

"Well... What about getting into crafting, baking, or something creative? Those can be fun." Margit asked.

Lily's ears drooped as she thrust her hands forward and wiggled her stubby fingers in front of Margit. "With these hands?"

"You used to draw all the time when you were younger... Your charcoal sketches," Margit remarked.

Lily frowned. "Not since they took away my mom's book."

She had inherited an old book from her mother and scribbled inside it until it was taken away from her. It was supposedly something she had found in her last adventure.

Margit sighed, remembering the situation. There had been some kerfuffle around the book, which had been taken away to prevent the child from "ruining precious paper"—or so they had said at the time. Honestly, it should never have happened, as the only time they ever took away a parent's belongings was if it was deemed too dangerous and kept until they were older. You could hardly give a child a deadly weapon, after all.

"Well, at a minimum, I'll sign you up for reading, writing, and mathematics," Margit said, trying to give her best reassuring smile. “That would open considerable doors for you in the future."

"I suppose..." Lily said reluctantly.

***

True to her word, over the next few days, Lily found herself in classes for the subjects Margit had suggested. She hated math, found the reading okay, and surprisingly really enjoyed writing. The classes were given small blackboards and white chalk to write with. Lily jumped a little ahead of her peers with letters and numbers, and used the extra time to doodle in the corners of the board.

After a handful of months of lessons, it dawned on Lily that she was potentially at the top of her class for her age group—except for math. When she spent time with Rose, she also lamented how horrible math class was, and both agreed that it seemed useless—unless they became merchants.

One day, Margit approached Lily in her room and handed her a familiar-looking book. "Mom's book!" she exclaimed in surprise. 

"Since your writing is going so well, I encouraged others to look into finding it," Margit said softly.

Lily immediately grabbed the book with both hands. Its large size was quite cumbersome to hold and carry around, but it was surprisingly light despite its proportions. 

She clumsily tried to open it, and it did so easily. Lily immediately spotted some of her familiar charcoal scribbles. Strangely, nobody else had written in the book, and no matter how many pages she flipped through, the rest were all blank.

"Why did they even take my book...?" Lily asked expectantly.

"They thought it might have been a grimoire, due to the cover," Margit answered.

"Grimoire?" Lily asked, unfamiliar with the word.

"A magic book," Margit answered. "They claimed it couldn't be opened. Then, they took it to an appraiser who said there wasn't even a hint of magic in the book."

Lily frowned. It sounded crazy. Why did they put so much time and effort into her book? It was completely blank, and she had no problems opening it herself. As if not believing Margit, she began to open and close the book repeatedly. Margit chuckled and held out her hands for Lily to hand her the book, which she did. Margit then tried and failed to open it.

"See. It won't open for me." Margit said, even putting some strain and emphasis on proving she wasn't just pretending.

"So it is a magic book?" Lily asked.

Margit shook her head as she handed it back. "I'm not sure. The pages are blank, but only you can open the book. Apparently, they even tried to burn it, but nothing happened."

Lily gasped and clutched the book tightly. She couldn't believe they tried to burn her mom's book.

Seeing her worry, Margit gave her a soft pat on the head, being careful not to be too rough with her bunny ears. "Don't worry, little one. It's back with you. I've confirmed it's empty, and I'll tell them such, but I assume they might send someone to confirm. Just show them it's empty."

"Thank you..." Lily murmured, still clutching the book.

Margit smiled and pulled out five freshly sharpened pencils from her belt pouch. "For you to practice writing and drawing with, now that you've got plenty of paper. If you keep improving at this rate, you'll get to write with ink in no time."

Lily's eyes widened; she couldn't believe that. From what she knew, ink was super expensive. But if she continued working hard, they would give her some.

Margit chuckled and asked to see some of her old drawings. Lily happily showed her, and after seeing them, Margit paused and asked if she could have one. Lily immediately agreed and tried to tear out a page, but it wouldn't budge. Margit also tried to remove the page, but the paper seemed indestructible to the two of them.

"Sorry, Margit," Lily said.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just have to bring my own paper next time." Margit reassured her. "Now, why don't you show me all the letters and numbers you can remember."

Lily beamed as she lifted the book onto her bed and opened it to the next blank page. There, she began to write carefully with her new pencil as if it were the most fragile thing in the world.

***

"So, is this the famous magic book?" Rose asked curiously, running her scaled finger down the book's spine.

"It's not magic..." Lily refuted.

Rose tried to open the book and failed. She shrugged and handed it to Lily. "Seems magic to me? Nobody but you can open it."

Lily frowned and opened it. "If it was magic, it would be more than blank pages."

Rose smiled before ruffling Lily's hair. "Just because it's not some flashy spell doesn't mean it's not magic. You've got your own secret diary!"

"I'd rather be able to make fire like you..." Lily grumbled.

"Well... You could just ask me." Rose winked, snapping her fingers and making a tiny flame flicker above her index finger.

Lily stared enviously at the tiny flame before it poofed out.

"Maybe you can be my secretary or assistant?" Rose said, pointing towards Lily's gradually neatening handwriting on the pages. "You should see how horrible my chicken scratch is."

"You're exaggerating..." Lily tried to brush aside the praise.

"No, really. I was told if I don't improve, then they won't let me into magic school."

"They can do that?" Lily asked, shocked.

"Apparently..." Rose said with a shrug. "Drawing and writing neatly is important for magic stuff? Or so I'm told..."

"But..."

"I guess I could just give it up and punch stuff, instead," Rose said, flexing one arm.

"Don't do that. Imagine all the cool things you could do with magic."

"Yeah... You're right... But math..." Rose grumbled.

"Yeah... Math..." Lily agreed.

***

Like Margit had said, another adult came one day to examine the book. Judging by his hat and outfit, Lily had to assume he was some sort of wizard. He only lacked a big poofy beard, or he would've looked straight out of a storybook. Thankfully, he came at a time when Rose was visiting, and he was also supervised by Margit. After finally getting her mom's book back, she was extremely reluctant to let it go again. He politely asked to see it, but as usual, he couldn't open it. Lily had no idea why she was the only one who could open the book.

"Would you mind opening it for me, please?" He requested.

Lily did so and revealed the book's plentiful pages. Despite how much she wrote or drew in it, she almost felt like it would never run out.

"Remarkable... I would've said it's some bloodline seal or something, but I cannot sense any magic from it." The man muttered to himself.

He began a soft chant, and the palm of his hand shone with magic. He touched the book gingerly, and his eyes lit up. This was real magic! Lily held her breath and noticed that Rose had also. It made her little finger flames look humble in comparison.

"Even a direct spell on it says it's mundane. And I can see the pages are blank and contain no arcane secrets..." He continued to murmur.

Against Lily's expectations, he politely bowed to her and thanked her for letting him see her book.

"I've confirmed it's neither magical nor dangerous. While its locking is a mystery, I can't see any reason why it shouldn't be with the heir." He informed Margit, who smiled happily and started to escort him out. She gave Lily a friendly wink before she left.

"Seems like everyone wanted your book," Rose said.

"It's weird, right?" Lily asked. "I don't see anyone trying to steal Tim's enchanted sword. They even let him keep it early after they locked its sheath."

"Yeah. Even if paper is expensive, there's no way it's worth more than an enchanted sword." Rose agreed.

Lily hugged the book tightly. It was all she had left from her mother.

"Don't worry. If anyone messes with you or your book, you come to me, and I'll beat them up for you." Rose said protectively.

"Thanks, Rose..." Lily said meekly.

***

Arakil felt very cold, tired, and weak. Something was wrong. He had completely lost track of his sense of time and couldn't even open his senses anymore. Whatever they'd done to his seal this time, had been far more effective than he realized. It felt like he'd lost an eternity of time, and worst of all, it was like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his mind; even his memories were in pieces.

How long had it been since he was in this form of stasis, and why had he only awoken now? It was a question on which he lacked the mental faculties to begin formulating a hypothesis. All forms of enchantment he had done on his book seemed dead, dry of even the tiniest drop of Mana. What had happened to the world- no, the universe? Even if he was abandoned in some Mana-barren hellhole of a world, Mana was a constant.

He felt what might have been the tiniest trickle of Mana into his pages; he believed he was currently open. So he wasn't in a barren world? But what could have possibly happened for Mana levels to drop to an amount this pathetically low? It boggled his mind, and he tried his best to ignore it and conserve his strength. He needed to take any opportunity available while open to gather what little Mana he could until he was minorly operational. Then, perhaps he could work together with whoever was his current owner once they formed a method of communication.

His telepathy spell was broken beyond repair, utterly starved to death. He felt the faint sense of something touching his pages; was it writing? The rhythmic motions felt vaguely in that category. He certainly hoped so because if this was some species that didn't have a language, he felt utterly doomed. He'd need to bide his time, regain some sense of self whenever he was opened, and then, assuming it was writing or something similar, try to decipher if it was a language.

It gave him some fleeting hope in the dire situation. He had plenty of experience learning languages; he was practically a polyglot after all the ones he had to learn for some obscure spell or ritual. Fighting against his emotions to stay awake, he instead put himself into a meditative trance to preserve and focus on gathering what little Mana he could.

Chapter 5 - Contact

 Weeks passed, and Lily continued her lessons. The orphanage staff had collectively decided that Lily potentially had a good chance as a scribe, as her lettering continued to improve, and it would fit in well with her low bodily constitution. Once they were confident enough in her progress, they presented her with her first pen and ink during a private lesson.

Lily spent time learning how to use the ink pen properly, and after she showed some success, they even gifted her one. While it was simple in design, Lily was absolutely delighted with it. Now, she could practice her grip, gently applying the correct pressure and proper care for the pen nib. When she returned to her room that evening, she wasted no time opening up her book and preparing to practice.

She carefully opened the inkwell and dipped in, making sure not to draw too much ink. Then, she carefully placed it on the page; she planned to go through her basic lettering. When the nib touched the page, a dark splotch of ink filled the spot, quickly growing as if the pen had been emptied. Lily quickly withdrew the pen from the page and stared at the black spot with a frown.

"No... Don't tell me the pen they gave me is broken?" Lily said somberly.

First, she sealed the inkpot shut to protect the ink. Then she tried her best to inspect the nib closely, and when she couldn't spot anything wrong with it, she attempted to clean it. Maybe she had just made a mistake? She brought her attention back to the page, ready for round two. Her eyes widened as she stared at the page where the ink stain once was. The ink was moving as if alive, and it began drawing out a word before her very eyes.

[Hello.]

Lily screamed and knocked the book off her desk, sending it scattering to the floor. She rushed over to her bed and hid under the covers. She was so terrified she refused to come out from under the covers all night.

***

Arakil wanted to cry. He had finally contacted his new owner, who became so frightened that she scattered his bookbound form to the floor.

He had spent months gathering what little Mana he could from this deprived world and spent his time learning the language from the scribblings of the girl.

From the little tidbits of information he had picked up, he had learned she was a hardworking orphan girl trying to get some form of scholarly position. It was certainly quite admirable in his eyes.

Unfortunately, after all this effort, he still lacked enough to make contact unaided, so he could only stare in silence in the hope of somehow making contact with her one day. Then, finally, she had moved on from pencils to ink.

Arakil had tried to keep his anticipation in check; with ink and a tiny bit of his stored Mana, he could make contact by manipulating the ink once it touched his pages!

Unfortunately, he hadn't expected his new owner to be so twitchy like a scared rabbit. If only he could've gotten some more information before making contact. The eye on his book cover that he used to be able to see the world from was far too drained of Mana to service him at present. He had assumed she was young, due to the sometimes crude drawings she scribbled in the book and her relatively low starting literacy.

You'd think any kid would be fascinated by a book talking to her, right? I certainly would have been... At least my book is open, so I can gather a little more Mana. Small blessings...

***

Lily woke the next day feeling miserable. She had a restless night filled with strange dreams. Groggily getting out of bed, she accidentally kicked something while trying to wipe her eyes. She winced and fell back onto her bed as she clutched her foot. Looking at the source of her pain, she saw it was her book lying on the floor. A chill went down her spine as she vividly remembered what had happened.

"It was just a nightmare... Right?" Lily asked, trying to reassure herself.

She cautiously approached the book and placed it back on her desk; she held her breath as she opened it up and began flipping through the pages. There, clearly written on the page, was the word in ink, was the word.

[Hello.]

She slammed the book shut again and shivered. She wanted to throw the book against the wall, but it was still her only connection to her mom, and it had been one of her only companions in the orphanage besides Rose. Instead, she placed it on the desk and tried her best to forget about the incident.

"I'm sure I'm just sleepy. Or maybe I haven't woken up properly yet," Lily muttered to herself.

She grabbed her towel and ran towards the bathroom. She needed to prepare for the day and have breakfast before her classes started. Today's class was math, which caused her to groan.

***

Lily's lack of sleep clearly affected her attention span, and classes were miserable. The teacher asked her if everything was okay after class, but Lily shook her head and just said she hadn't slept well. She didn't dare talk about the book's message; what if they took it away from her again?

Normally, she would rush back to her room afterward, but instead, she took a slow walk outside, sticking to the shade.

'I'm not scared to go back to my room... I'm just taking the scenic route!' Lily told herself with false confidence.

Eventually, she gathered up enough courage to return to her room. She tiptoed in as if expecting a beast to lurk in the shadows, but her room was completely undisturbed from when she left it. She closed the door behind her and cautiously approached the desk. She held her breath and slowly opened the book to the page.

[Hello.]

"H-Hello?" Lily asked the book.

No response. Lily breathed in deeply.

"Right... Even if you could respond, the ink is dry..." Lily said with hesitation.

She looked for her inkpot and found it on the floor. She could only thank the gods that she had the foresight to seal the pot beforehand. She gingerly picked it up and was relieved that there appeared to be no damage to it.

"This is so stupid... No way my book can talk..." Lily muttered to herself.

Despite her hesitations, she placed the pot on the desk. Sitting down, she carefully picked up her pen and dipped it into the inkwell. She nervously held her breath and touched the page with the pen again.

"Hello?" Lily said nervously.

Once again, the pen instantly drained off its ink as it came out in a splotch. Lily's eyes widened in shock at the exact events repeated, and she held back a scream as she saw the ink start to writhe and form words.

[Sorry to have scared you. I hope you are okay.]

The text was impossibly thin, clearly using every drop of ink with the utmost efficiency, and the letters were utterly perfect. If Lily wasn't currently freaking out, she would have admired the work. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"It's okay... I'm... Fine. Can you hear me?" Lily eventually asked.

The book did not respond, and she figured the ink on the page had dried too much for the book to use. She dipped her pen nib again and repeated the process.

[Yes. I can hear you.]

"My name is Lily. Do you have a name?" Lily asked, repeating the inking process.

[Nice to meet you, Lily. My name is Arakil.]

"Arakil... Are you a magic book?"

[Under the loosest of definitions. Yes. I was an Archmage.]

Lily gasped in surprise. Only the best of the best became Archmages, requiring someone to be born with both talent and a superior bloodline. On Arakil's part, it was a little bit of a fib; he was an Archmage long ago, but it sounded more realistic from his viewpoint to downplay his position.

"Can you do magic?"

[I could. Regrettably, I lack sufficient Mana.]

"Mana comes from our blood... Unfortunately, I don't have any."

[What!?]

The ink wasn't fully used, swirling around as if waiting for a response. Internally, Arakil was fuming.

"I'm a Lagia. We can't do ma-" Lily tried to explain when the swirling ink splashed out a response, interrupting her and causing her to let out a scared squeak.

[Everyone can do magic!]

Arakil wanted to scream, but this was the best he could do. What atrocities had become of the world that only the privileged few could do magic now? Magic was for everyone; it was the ultimate form of expression!

"I can't..." Lily responded, her voice wavering. "I'm not strong like Rose or the others."

[You can do magic. You just need determination.]

"I-I don't believe you." Lily stammered.

[What if I can prove it?]

Lily gasped. It sounded too good to be true, and her doubts made her wonder whether this was some elaborate prank. But... Deep down, she truly wanted it to be true.

"O-okay! Prove it then!" Lily demanded.

[You will need a blank page and three doses of ink.]

A bit of the remaining ink continued to swirl around as if waiting for more to provide further instructions. Lily thankfully understood the intention and hurried to offer more ink.

[Once done, you must tear the page from the book.]

More ink.

[Then burn the center of the page.]

[I will require 10 days to recover. Less if open.]

[I hope this shows my faith in you. Any questions?]

"No..." Lily replied, shaking her head.

[Good. Let's get started then. I hope to speak to you again.]

Lily was shocked. It seemed too good to be true. She turned to a blank page, dipped her pin, and then deposited the ink. It pooled in the center of the page and awaited the remaining portion. Lily found herself holding her breath as she dipped her pen two more times.

When the final drop was sucked up by the page, Arakil got to work. He would spend what little Mana he had acquired imbuing the ink for this demonstration, but he hoped it would suitably inspire Lily.

He was still outraged at what she had said. Mana from blood? It sounded like absolute nonsense cooked up by some blue-blood noble to try to suppress knowledge. But... Arakil couldn't sense Mana from Lily.

'Has Mana become an internal source rather than external? Have the races evolved in a way to live in this Mana-deficient environment?' These were questions that pestered Arakil's mind.

As Arakil drew his magical diagram on the page, Lily stared in utter awe and wonder. Each stroke was masterful, the pattern was intricate and beautiful, and the ink seemed to faintly glow as it danced across the page.

Meanwhile, Arakil was feeling a little bitter. While he loved his work, he couldn't help but feel remorse at how much he struggled to create a simple illusion scroll. He had such a tiny amount of Mana to work with; it was pitiful.

A small voice of doubt even told him to cut corners; surely a little girl wouldn't even notice a bit of shoddy work in an illusion, but his pride refused to give in to temptation. Moreover, he wanted to leave a long-lasting impression on this youth, like what had started his own magical journey so long ago.

The glyphs shone when the final stroke completed the magical circle, finalizing the work. Lily audibly gasped, her eyes glittering with fascination. Meanwhile, Arakil began slipping into unconsciousness; he had gone overboard with that scroll. With his last thoughts, he broke the seal that was keeping the page tied to the book, and silently wished Lily good luck.

Lily gingerly touched the page, softly tracing the intricate sigils and glyphs with her fingers. Recalling the instructions Arakil had given her, she tried to carefully tear out the page.

Lily had half expected to fail. Nobody had successfully claimed paper from this strange book, which was why it fell back into her ownership. Yet as she made the delicate motions, it effortlessly released from the book fully intact.

Lily went to her lamp and lit it. The next instructions told her to burn the paper from the center. She hesitated, staring at the beautiful drawing on the paper.

"I don't want to burn it..." Lily murmured.

Truthfully, she wanted to save it and cherish it. Then she realized she might be able to get Arakil to draw another one for her, which was when she finally resolved to see this through to the end. She daintily held the center of the page over the burning wick.

Lily had expected the page to burn abruptly, but the center began to glow softly. Then, a tiny pinprick of a hole burned into the page, and the entire inked design began to glimmer like an iridescent rainbow. Once the magical diagram fully lit up, the page flashed and vanished from Lily's fingertips as if instantly burnt to a crisp.

Lily yelped in shock and surprise, frantically flicking her fingers as if they had been burnt. But there was no injury or burn. Had she done something wrong? The page hadn't even left any residue, as if it had never existed. Lily's heart began to sink when something started happening.

The room began to darken and dim into barely a soft, warm glow when tiny specks of light suddenly twinkled all around. Stars materialized out of thin air, and the entire space was filled with a mesmerizing display of constellations. Lily's room was transformed into an ethereal night sky.

Lily gasped, tears forming in her eyes as her hands began to tremble. She stared in wonder and awe as the magical display unfolded, casting a spell of enchantment over the room.

It was as if the beauty of the universe had manifested within the confines of her room. Watching this breathtaking sight, Lily felt as though she could reach out and touch the stars, their gentle glow casting a radiant and enchanting ambiance throughout the space.

Lily stood there in silence; the only sound was the occasional pitter-patter of tears dripping to the floor. She spun around, desperately trying to burn every bit of this display into her memory. Then the room began to brighten, the stars began to slowly blur, and a few moments later, the room returned to normal. With great excitement, she turned back to the page of their conversation.

"That was amazing, Arakil!" Lily exclaimed.

She had dipped her pen and placed it against the page, but nothing happened. Fear gripped her heart, but reading Arakil's last words, she realized he was truthful when he said he would need time to recover. Not wanting to waste the ink, she instead wrote on the page.

[Thank you.]

"I hope you wake up soon," Lily said, struggling to hide her smile.

Chapter 6 - Apprentice

 Even though Lily struggled to sleep that night, her excitement constantly bubbled up; when she finally did pass out, she had wonderful dreams. As Arakil had asked, she left the book open, although she wasn't entirely sure how that would let him wake up sooner.

Eager to check if he had recovered, she opened her inkpot and dipped the pen into the page. There was no response, so she spent some time practicing her pressure and strokes.

"I need lots of practice to draw things like that spell..." Lily murmured, still perplexed by how beautiful and precise it had been.

Finishing up, she cleaned her equipment and left for the day, trying her best to contain the excitement still threatening to bubble up.

While her lessons seemed much duller now, she still put forth her best effort. Lily knew that if she started slacking, they might decide not to refill her inkpot when it ran out, and she figured that it would be her utmost priority to continue speaking to Arakil.

At lunch, she met up with Rose, who looked bored out of her mind.

"I don't know how you do it, Lily..." Rose muttered, "So much math. The numbers make my head spin."

Lily shrugged; while she didn't enjoy most of her lessons other than writing, she just had far too much free time compared to the other kids who wanted to play outside or seek training.

"Teacher says practice makes perfect... And I have lots of time to practice." Lily finally responded.

"Ugh..." Rose groaned, picking up a chicken drumstick and digging in.

"You've started magic lessons, right?" Lily asked. "How are those going?"

Rose was surprised by the subject being brought up, as when she had originally tried to talk about it, it just made Lily depressed. Not wanting to upset her little sister, she avoided discussing anything Lily could not do.

"It's... Interesting?" Rose eventually began speaking, hesitant to cause another depressive episode with Lily. "At first, I hated it; it was lots of breathing and meditation about feeling my Mana flowing through my veins. But lately, it's gotten better."

"How do you cast a spell?" Lily asked.

"Umm..." Rose mumbled, trying to recall her lessons. "At the moment, I can only cast from my bloodline. My teacher is trying to teach me to cast with a chant."

Lily seemed puzzled as she tilted her head and frowned, so Rose sighed and decided to try her best to explain. She snapped her fingers and made a little flame dance above her fingertip like she had done many times before.

"This is casting from my bloodline. I can naturally cast fire without much effort. Hell, I could do this before even my teacher came along," Rose tried to explain. "But proper mages can cast other spells, not just their natural bloodline magic, and to do that, I need to chant."

Lily nodded enthusiastically, her bunny ears flopping back and forth, even though she only vaguely understood what Rose was talking about. Rose was delighted by her cute little sister's enthusiasm for a change.

"Have you ever seen magic drawings?" Lily asked, then quickly clarified. "Like... Magic patterns that cast a spell, drawn on a piece of paper."

Rose scratched her head as she wracked her brain, trying to remember some of the theory lessons she had gone through. She silently cursed her lack of enthusiasm about her lessons—her big sister image was on the line here!

"Yes..." Rose eventually strained out. "Other than chanting, I think you can also draw... Glyphs? I think you draw it with blood?"

"Blood!?" Lily gasped.

"Well... Mana is in our blood, right?" Rose answered, although she only looked half sure herself.

But Arakil did it with just normal ink... How? Lily wondered, deep in thought.

"I'll ask my teacher about other kinds of magic next lesson," Rose offered.

"Thanks, Rose!" Lily said happily.

Rose couldn't help but smile at her adorable little sister. She just hoped her teacher wouldn't be too upset about revisiting old lessons she hadn't been listening to.

When Lily returned to her room later that day, she immediately tried again to talk to Arakil. When there was no response, she figured he must still be sleeping. She continued to practice her penmanship before finally calling it a night.

***

A week passed, and Lily checked every morning and evening to see if Arakil had finally returned. A small part of her couldn't help but wonder if she had imagined the whole thing.

What terrified her the most was that Arakil's writing was in the book, and it had been her pillar of support that she hadn't just been delusional. However, one day, when Rose came for an unexpected visit, she could not see his writing.

"Why did you write 'Thank you' on this page?" Rose had asked.

Lily had to hide her trembling as she made her excuse, "I was practicing to thank my teacher."

Thankfully the excuse worked, and Rose teased Lily for trying to suck up to the teacher. But internally, Lily was extremely shaken by that revelation, and her nightmares returned that evening.

Then, one night, her pen nib was drained dry while she was in mid-practice. It was so sudden that she couldn't help but let out a squeak.

[Hello again, Lily.]

"Arakil! You woke up!" Lily said excitedly. "I was so worried..."

[It's only been... 8 days? That's ahead of schedule.]

"I know..." Lily admitted, feeling a little embarrassed. "But, my friend couldn't see your writing. I thought... Maybe... It wasn't real."

Even though Lily had placed ink on the page for him to respond, Arakil kept it swirling as he tried to take the time to think. That was certainly a strange revelation; was it part of the conditions put on his seal? His memory of the event was extremely degraded, and who knew what those blasted fairies and devils put into that contract.

[I believe, as my owner, you are the only one I can communicate with.]

Lily's eyes sparkled as she read those words. Her childlike wonder immediately believed those words were true; this was her destined book, which her mother had left behind! Only she could open it, and only she could read from it. Flawless logic.

"Thanks, Arakil," Lily murmured, her anxiety all but gone. "I loved the spell you did. The stars were so beautiful..."

[I'm glad it showed you the wonders of magic.]

"Did you put blood in the ink? Rose's teacher said that glyphs need blood."

[No. I imbued the ink with some of the Mana I collected.]

"How? Mana comes from blood."

[Mana is everywhere.]

"But I don't have any Mana."

After some back-and-forth, Lily convinced Arakil to investigate her blood. This was clearly some deep-rooted phenomenon in the world he had awoken in, and Lily was adamant that she had no Mana. Arakil had even begun to wonder if the girl was perhaps right; after all, the ambient Mana had dropped to such pitiful levels.

Lily put on her best brave face and used one of the sharper pen nibs to stab a tiny wound on her finger. She still flinched and then placed the drop of blood into the book by smearing her finger against a page.

Arakil examined the blood and was shocked; the girl did not even have a hint of Mana. Was this the conditions that those blasted fairies put on him? He could only bond with someone completely devoid of Mana? It was a startling revelation.

His mind began to whirl as he tried to think of a solution. Casting without any personal Mana was certainly possible; Lily had proven that by activating the scroll he had prepared for her. If that fundamental law of the universe had somehow changed, Arakil would have undoubtedly been doomed.

I need to access my archives... But to do that, I need more Mana. Arakil thought bitterly.

It was a catch-22 situation. He was confident his considerable archives could provide a ritual, potion, or other solution that could grant Lily personal Mana. Arakil had certainly done many such things in the past to improve his own personal aptitudes and capacity. The only issue was that he would need far more Mana than he could reasonably collect to thoroughly search his archives.

[You don't currently have Mana. But we can fix that.]

When the first part of Arakil's message was written out, Lily wanted to cry, but thankfully, the rest came before the tears.

"You promise?" Lily hesitantly asked.

[Yes. I've done so in the past. But I need Mana to search my archives.]

"How can we get you some Mana?"

[What if we collect blood from some people?]

"Blood? How much blood?" Lily asked hesitantly. She didn't like the idea, but maybe she could ask Rose for a few drops?

[Depending on the concentration... 30 to 60 liters should be enough.]

"H-how much is that?" Lily stammered. It sounded like a lot to her.

[Roughly 5 to 10 human bodies worth.]

"No! That sounds totally evil!" Lily vehemently refused.

Arakil sighed internally. He knew it was a long shot since the child was clearly extremely goodhearted despite her desperate desire to seek magic. Still... If the people had changed so much in this new world, what about the fauna and flora?

[Does this world have monsters? What about potions?]

"Yes, there are monsters," Lily answered. "My parents were adventurers. Are you talking about healing potions? Those are quite expensive."

[Good. Okay... Maybe we can work with that.]

"What do you mean?" Lily was confused.

[Monsters likely have Mana. I also theorize that the plants might contain Mana.]

"Why would plants have Mana?" Lily asked confusedly.

[The alternative means that people are mixing blood into potions.]

Lily's face went ghastly pale.

"Do you want me to ask people? I can try Rose... Or Rose's teacher?"

[Or you could pick some herbs and press them between my pages.]

"Like a bookmark?"

[Yes. That should be enough for me to check for any Mana.]

"Okay!" Lily enthusiastically agreed. "I can ask Rose to pick flowers with me; she's strong and will keep me safe."

[I'm glad you are happy. But I just want to set some expectations.]

"Okay..."

[If this works, it will be a long process. In fact, I predict we might need to start you off with glyphs. If the plants contain Mana, we could create imbued ink.]

"Wow..." Lily whispered. "So I can draw that pretty magic?"

[Yes. In fact, we should start your lessons immediately. Your penmanship is already commendable.]

"Yes! Please!" Lily replied excitedly. "And thank you..."

[You're welcome, my apprentice. Now, a new page, two portions of ink. ]

Lily nodded and followed the instructions. Arakil immediately began another drawing that amazed her, although it was far simpler than the one he had first shown her. Still, even in its simplicity, it seemed masterfully crafted, and Lily couldn't help but stare in wonder. When Arakil was done, she turned back to their conversation page.

[That was the layout for a simple magical projectile. It's a very basic offensive spell. There's no Mana in that, but you can practice the design until you can replicate it without reference. Next page, two portions.]

Again, Arakil repeated the process, and Lily recognized that a few symbols matched the previous one. Again, it was a relatively simple design, barely using up space on the page.

[This is a basic shield spell. Designed to protect you at minimum once. You should practice this one the most, as it will become your best friend.]

"Okay!" Lily exuberantly agreed.

[Excellent! I'll be meditating, but call my name if you need to catch my attention. Otherwise, I'll wait until you have some plants to examine.]

"Thank you, Arakil! I'll practice super hard!"

Arakil was going to wish her the best when he paused. Was he really going to send a little girl out to collect plants? Lily said she had a strong friend and didn't seem too worried about the suggestion indicating potentially peaceful surroundings... But still, Arakil had doubts. Luck was never on his side, and contingencies were his forte.

[Two pages. One portion each. Tear out both pages.]

Lily was surprised but followed the instructions. Arakil repeated one of each spell he had previously drawn, except this time, the pages shimmered with magical energy. She removed both pages like the last time without any effort.

"What are these for?" Lily asked curiously, holding the two pages carefully like delicate treasures.

[Use these in case of an emergency. Tear the page down the center and throw it to trigger it.]

"Okay, I will. But, are you okay?" Lily asked, worried that he had done two magic pages this time.

[I'll be asleep for four days at minimum. But I wanted to ensure your safety. Good luck, Lily.]

"I will be safe!" Lily promised. "Sleep tight, Arakil."

He wanted to respond, but he was parched. He could already feel his consciousness rapidly slipping. He couldn't help but feel bitter at how low the once mighty Arakil had fallen. Drained dry from imbuing a single shield and attack spell... But if the flora had Mana, then creating homemade imbued ink was feasible, and then... Well, the Mana from mere plants would never be enough to search his archives, but once Lily had gained some confidence with her glyph work, then Monsters would likely hold a solution to their predicament.

Lily stared at the two pages in her grasp with joyous wonder. Then she realized that Arakil only used one portion of ink per page instead of two. Curious, she compared the pages to their original counterparts and realized that Arakil had made the first lines thicker for easier readability.

Lily couldn't help but giggle excitedly at how kind Arakil was to her, trying to make it easier for her to read. She cleaned up her equipment and carefully put it away. Then she pulled out a pencil and roughly copied the first drawing as precisely as possible.

"Don't worry, Arakil. I'll get this perfect with pencil first and then ink." Lily said confidently.

With the excitement bubbling, Lily was burning the midnight oil until one of the staff members knocked on her door and scolded her for not going to bed already.

Lily sighed and headed for her bed. She carefully placed the two scrolls under her pillow. When her head hit the pillow, she yawned and slowly drifted off to slumber.