A Huge Mistake and a Huge Rampage!

“If songs are the key to reviving the sacred trees, then I might know one that’s useful, too.” Even though he was still bemused by this turn of events, Alan fully intended to keep going. “It’s different from Feoras’s, though,” he said before beginning to sing.

His rhythm was just a little off, but he sounded as if he was enjoying himself.

The old one overlooks the hill; snow-white flowers guide the lost.

And at the end of their journey, love’s paradise is not so far.

A wish shall become your strength on a blessed night of falling stars.

So should we just do what this song said?

Well, to start, we decided to summon a spirit, just as we’d done earlier. Lotte sang and placed her hand on the thick, imposing trunk of the oak tree—the seventh of the sacred trees. As she did, a stout elderly man appeared in front of us.

Could he be “the old one”?

As we silently looked on, the spirit called over the forest lady from the first tree and clasped her hands affectionately.

From that point on, everything happened so fast.

Together, the two approached the eighth tree, the holly tree, and blew little white flowers and red berries into being, one after another. The songbirds pecked at these flowers, scattering silver pollen snowflakes in the direction of the ninth tree, the hazel tree.

Then the pollen was gently stirred up by their fluttering wings, drifting and rising into the night sky to form the shape of a pillar.

Upon seeing this, the old one and the lady nodded to each other and floated up into the sky. As they began to dance and waltz among the stars, the tenth tree—the apple tree—started to bear bright-red fruit below their lithe steps.

The next thing we knew, all four sacred trees were bright and alive once again.

“…Wow.”

Not that I had helped out with anything.

But my heart was pounding like crazy—the way it had when I’d first watched Chariot’s show. To think Lotte’s song would spark a chain of events and produce a miracle like this! Magic was really, reeeally fantastic!

My heart was beating so fast, it could have jumped right out of my mouth.

“We only have three to go!”

But Lotte was totally drained from singing three times, wiping sweat from her forehead. So we all decided to take a short break, sitting down right where we were.

And you know, Jasminka’s snacks really came in handy!

Ivy, the eleventh tree, was a little different from the rest.

To start with, it wasn’t technically a tree, and there was a big stone marker as tall as the other trees in its spot. There, the plant’s stalks intertwined, meshing around it and covering it with a thick blanket of leaves.

“There’s something written here, too.” Amanda parted its leaves to reveal more of the Luna Alphabet on the stone.

I’ll get it this time, I thought, squinting at the monument.

I sighed with relief. Oh, good, I could certainly read that much.

“‘What is your wish?’”

The moment I said those words aloud, the world around me went pitch-black.

This time, I knew it wasn’t a dream or anything. It felt as though we’d all been left behind in the dark abyss of outer space.

Even though they had to be right beside me, I couldn’t hear anybody breathing.

I almost called out to them.

But I stopped myself when I saw a woman appearing from the depths of the darkness. She radiated an iridescent light and wore silver bracelets that jingled delicately.

You’re—! I tried to yell, but the words wouldn’t leave my mouth.

It was the first Sifla, the one I’d seen in the dream! But something about her was different. What was it? She was still pretty, but she emanated a cold frigidity at the same time.

Involuntarily, my hands tightened on the Shiny Rod.

“What do you wish for?”

Agh, she spoke! Startled, I backed up hastily.

Um, um, my wish, my wish is obviously… I was this close to answering, but she wasn’t looking at me. Her eyes were fixed on someone else.

Another light appeared in the direction of her gaze, brightening to reveal Feoras.

Oh, he was on edge, his fur standing on end and his tail lashing. It sort of made him look like a normal cat.

“Who are you? The first Sifla?” He tensely responded with a question of his own. “What on earth are you trying to do here? One role for three people? There’s no way we could do that! I’m the one who’s going to become the fairy king. I’ll protect the current Sifla and the hill!” he spit out, on the brink of tears.

In spite of myself, I wanted to hug him, but I couldn’t move or speak, either. Someone or something was telling me not to get in the way.

She just repeated her question.

“What do you wish for?”

“…I’ve said it over and over already. I want to be the fairy king.”

“Why?”

“That’s the wish of all Cait Sith. We want to dominate the Cu Sith and put them in their place for good. Not just them but all the fairies on the hill. This is necessary to protect Sifla.”

“Necessary? Why?”

“You need power to protect someone. And I want enough power to silence anyone who dares complain and make them acknowledge me as king.”

Liar. That couldn’t really be what he wanted.

I mean, he looked so alive when he was with Alan—even when he was upset!

Sifla gazed steadily at him and sighed.

“So that’s your wish.”

She tilted her head, then looked past me on the other side.

“And what do you wish for?”

Under a bright light, Alan appeared, just as I expected. His tail stuck out stiffly, perfectly horizontal and full of fear.

“I…” He faltered, looking troubled and shooting a glance at Feoras out of the corner of his eye for a fleeting moment. He looked down again right away. “…Feoras can do what he wants,” he choked out.

Her face clouded over again.

“Then you have no desires of your own?”

“Well, I…” Alan glanced again at Feoras. “I don’t really care about being the fairy king, and it’s not as if I want to fight the Cait Sith. It’s just, Feoras is really stubborn.” He grimaced. “It’s all just a pain. If he wants to settle this, then I’ll do that.”

“…You’re always like that,” Feoras snapped. “I’m amazed you can call yourself a king when you’re that indecisive. Oh, how I pity the Cu Sith.”

“It’s because you don’t listen! It makes me feel bad for your tribe. Why can’t you be mature?!”

“I don’t want to hear that from you! …I was right. I can’t leave the hill to a coward like you. I’m going to become the fairy king! If you think it’s too much work, then shut up and obey me.”

“…I told you—that’d be its own kind of annoying.”

“In that case, we’ll settle this with force.” Feoras’s eyes flashed with anger. “We should’ve done that in the first place. Who cares about the trial?! If we fight with our fists, it’ll be clear which of us is stronger. No one will be able to complain about the outcome.”

“Enough. I understand your wishes.”

Her voice was icy and expressionless, causing Feoras and Alan to actually shut up for once.

“I’ll grant them all for you. Acquire vast power and fight each other to your hearts’ content.”

“…What?”

“What do you mean?”

Shing, ting, ting-a-ling-a-ling.

Her silver bracelets jingled as she extended her right index finger and swept her hand up, pointing toward the sky.

“Pity. With those wishes, you won’t be able to make the stars fall from the sky. Let us end this trial for now.”

She swung her finger at the two of them, and they were enveloped by motes of light like sparks from a fire.

I didn’t have time to stop her.

I didn’t even have time to speak up.

All I could do was watch what was happening in front of me in disbelief.

Expanding and growing.

Stretching and lengthening.

Their bodies swelled out to make them bigger and taller.

Basically, they were growing enormous. As they got bigger and bigger, the light around them grew until the force sucked me in.

When I finally opened my eyes again with a gasp, I saw I was standing on top of the hill.

Feoras and Alan immediately filled my field of vision. They’d gotten so big, they could have bumped their heads on the moon as they grappled with each other, their fur bristling.

At their feet, everyone was running around in confusion, screaming shrilly.

…Hold up. Everyone?

“Did we…make it back?”

“Sure looks like it,” replied Lotte, and Sucy nodded in agreement.

They were right. Although there was no telling when we’d gotten there, we were standing in front of Stone Doras aboveground.

“Girls, get back! Calm down!” Professor Finnelan shouted with a stern face. As she issued directions, Alan took a thundering step right beside her.

“I’ll take care of it!” shouted Diana, and a light shot out of her extended wand, protecting the students from getting crushed.

“Thank you, Diana!”

“Never mind that—just evacuate. Hurry!”

Following the professors’ instructions, they flew into the entrance of the leyline, one after another. I watched them leave with my hands still clenched around the Shiny Rod.

“Girls, why are you just standing there? Let’s go, quickly!”

Professor Ursula grabbed my shoulder, which brought me back to my senses. But I ignored her as I clung to Amanda’s arm.

“…Amanda, let me ride with you!”

“You got it. Tia Freyre!”

Straddling her broom, I put my arms around her waist.

“Huh? Um? What?”

Leaving the flustered professor below us, we shot up into the night sky.

“Feoras! Alan!” We got right up close to their ears and shouted. But their burning, bright-red eyes couldn’t even see us. “Feoras! Hey, Alan!”

Instead of a response, Feoras’s paw flew at us, sharp claws extended. His paw pads knocked us away before he aimed his fist at Alan’s left eye.

“Awooooooooooooooooo!”

As his claws pulled through Alan’s cheek and left diagonal gashes in their wake, Alan let out a long howl.

“Alan!”

His heavy-looking eyelids snapped wide-open. In fact, there wasn’t a single trace of his lazy attitude anywhere, and with another snarl, he bared his fangs and bit down on Feoras’s shoulder.

“Mrooooooowr!”

Why did things have to turn out like this?! These weren’t the two I knew!

As my eyes blurred with tears, I saw Diana racing smartly toward the two of them on her broom. She started chanting some sort of spell, pointing her wand at the pair. Before I could open my mouth to shout, Amanda flew in front of her, shielding the combatants.

“Diana, wait!” I yelled, and she froze for a moment. “Please don’t hurt those two.”

“What is the meaning of this?” She scowled fiercely. “What are those monsters?!”

“They’re not monsters! They’re Feoras and Alan. And neither of them is bad. There’s just been a little mistake, and… Agh!”

Feoras lashed his long tail at us, appearing irritated by the way we were darting around him. Because he’d moved so suddenly, Amanda didn’t manage to dodge him, and he hit her on the shoulder and knocked us both off the broom.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”

We almost plunged to the earth, but Diana caught us just in the nick of time. Right before we would’ve been dashed to the ground, she circled around beneath us, and we fell onto her broom.

“Gweh!” The thin broom hit me right in the stomach so hard, I thought it would knock my guts out.

“Would you kindly explain what on earth is going on here?” Diana asked me sternly after she set me down on the ground.

Even though Professor Ursula looked nervous, there was a sharp light in her eyes as well.

Ooh, yikes. She’s mad for sure.

“Well, they’re both Sifla’s friends, you see, and she asked us to…,” I started to explain.

As they listened, their expressions got more grief-stricken and stiff, and both heaved deep, deep sighs.

“Really, Akko, nothing good ever comes out when you’re involved.”

There it was: their go-to line.

They both put a hand on their foreheads and shook their heads. I could almost hear them thinking: Good grief. Th-this isn’t all my fault. It’s Feoras’s and Alan’s fault for being stubborn!

But I didn’t want to waste time arguing now.

“Anyway, we have to stop them. I know they really don’t want to fight each other like that!”

“Miss Kagari, how did the end of that song go?”

“Huh? Um…”

I started to hum.

A wish shall become your strength on a blessed night of falling stars.

Unless our hearts soften and melt into one, the world will never settle into harmony.

That was something the first Sifla had said.

Did this happen because they were both hardheaded? Was it because they just wouldn’t get along? Was this punishment?

My eyes filled with tears. And when I looked up, I saw that the wrinkles between Professor Ursula’s eyes were deeper than I’d ever seen them.

“…These two got it wrong.”

“Huh?”

“Miss Kagari, you told them the first Sifla’s wish was for the three of them to become one. When she asked what their wishes were, I think she may have been testing them to see whether her own wish had gotten through to them.”

“But…they both refused it, so…”

Was that why they’d gotten so big? Was it because they’d said they wanted vast power?

I was this close to bursting into tears when the professor raised her head abruptly.

“Miss Kagari. Do you remember the characteristics of the twelfth tree, the broom tree?”

Huh? Seriously? She’s testing me on homework at a time like this?!

But I combed through the depths of my mind, desperately trying to remember.

“I think it was, um, that it links the human world with other worlds and brings with it a mystical peacefulness…or something like that.”

“That’s right. Well done.” Even in a situation like this, Professor Ursula smiled softly. “If used correctly, leaves from a broom tree can act as a medicine and as a healing power. But if misused, it’s just like a drug, agitating the soul and even making you hallucinate.”

Whud. Feoras’s foot came crashing down just behind Professor Ursula.

“…There’s no need to ask if it’s acting as a medicine or a drug right now,” she said.

“Oh no! Then what should we do?”

“Unfortunately, all we can do is restrain the two of them somehow…”

“No, don’t!”

We heard a scream rip through the air. When we turned around, Sifla was standing there.

Her face was crumpled and tearstained, and both her fists were clenched. She was shaking. “You can’t do that. Please don’t hurt them!”

Professor Ursula turned her intent gaze onto Sifla as the young girl spoke through her sobs.

“Oh, so you’re… To think we’d meet like this.” She hugged Sifla by her shoulders as if to give her courage and strength.

Sifla clung to the professor. “It was my fault. It’s all because I just waited too long, because I didn’t do anything.” Her tears spilled over endlessly as she spoke. “That dream Akko saw about the first witch, I’d seen it for ages. I knew it was my job to make the two of them get along. But I didn’t know what to do, and I kept waiting, thinking they were sure to understand someday!” Sifla sobbed. “I knew it wouldn’t work. I knew I had to do something, but still I…”

I looked at Amanda, but she frowned back at me, shaking her head. “My shoulder took a hit back there. I won’t be able to keep my balance. Riding double like that’d be too risky.”

“No…”

Just then, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, Sifla straddled her own broom. “Get on, Akko.”

“Sifla… You can ride?!”

“Uh-huh. I’m not much of one, but I am still a witch.”

“But riding double is…”

“…I suppose I’d better help.” Lotte mounted her broom with a wry smile. “You fly by yourself, Sifla, and I’ll take Akko with me.”

Nodding in agreement, we all took off together.

“Ah, wait, Miss Kagari! Girls…!”

Shaking off Professor Ursula’s attempt to stop us, we soared up into the sky.

During the few moments our attention had been elsewhere, Feoras’s and Alan’s faces had gotten all scratched up.

“Feoras! Alan! Please go back to your old selves!” Sifla was half crying, half chanting a spell at the two of them. But they didn’t so much as twitch.

Honestly! After those two swore up and down that they didn’t want to make Sifla sad! Where was the sense in making her cry this hard?!

“Mroooooooooowr!!”

“Awoooooooooooo!!”

As the pair fought each other, howling, their eyes blazed and burned. I saw through them, though: Those eyes were moist. Both of them were crying large translucent tears.

One of those giant drops came down right onto our heads.

Kabloosh!

We were soaking, sopping wet. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of water on us.

And bleh, it was salty. I felt sticky and gross all over. Arrrgh, once those two were themselves again, I was gonna give them such an earful!

We’d stopped our brooms with a start, and this time, Alan’s tail nearly slammed into us. But Diana fired off another light at him to keep it from happening.

When Sifla heard Alan give a little shriek in response, she looked as if she might faint off her broom. I glared at Diana, who was calmly holding her wand at the ready.

“I thought I told you not to attack them…!”

“It won’t do any physical damage. It’ll just inflict a little bit of pain. Unlike you, I do have that much control.”

“…Rgh.”

“But we won’t get anywhere this way. What do you intend to do? I understand you don’t want to hurt them. But if we’re going to stop them, there may be no other alternative, you know.” As Diana spoke, there was no hesitation in her voice.

She was right. I knew that.

And I knew she wasn’t the type to recklessly hurt people at random. She obviously didn’t really want to do anything like this in the first place. I got where she was coming from: If things went on like this, those two were gonna keep hurting each other, and she wanted to stop them before they got seriously injured.

I couldn’t do anything, so I wasn’t qualified to argue. But… But!

It was at that moment.

“…Elder,” Sifla murmured slowly. “Say, Akko? Sucy’s particularly good at experiments, isn’t she?”

“Huh? Oh yes. She is, but…”

“In that case, do you think she could boil down some elder and make some holy water super-fast?”

“I think she probably could, but…”

Why elder? That was the thirteenth sacred tree, wasn’t it?

Her comment had come out of the blue, so I was still trying to process it as Lotte suddenly cried out, “I see! Akko, don’t you remember? Sifla mentioned it before we went to the Country of the Fairies.”

“Huh? Um…”

Come to think of it, it was when Sucy had said she wanted elder leaves.

Sifla had said it presided over death and rebirth, and it was perfect for breaking curses.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Eep! Akko, you’re being loud!”

“S-sorry.”

The broom rocked back and forth, and I clung to Lotte’s waist. We had to get back to Sucy, fast.

As we tried to descend, Alan’s thick, fluffy tail whooshed toward us. At the very last second, we somehow managed to avoid it, but that took us right into the path of Feoras’s long, slim tail, curled around like a whip.

G-geez, that was dangerous!

But the impact made me remember something: the reason we’d been trying to revive the sacred trees in the first place.

“Sucy!” I shouted down toward the ground. “Gather leaves from the sacred trees! Boil them all down together and make the panacea!”

“…Ah yes, I see.” Without looking particularly surprised, Sucy nodded to herself a few times. “Okay. Hang on a minute,” she responded in an easygoing voice.

“…I really like that side of Sucy,” I said.

Lotte nodded. “It is nice, isn’t it?”

Then, even though this really wasn’t the time to do so, we looked at each other and laughed.

“Loperial Phasmorl!!”

A brisk voice echoed around us, and the little trees on the hill began to glow abruptly. Their trunks swelled, and their branches wriggled, growing at a terrific pace.

“Wh-what?!”

The branches shot up to twine solidly around Feoras’s and Alan’s legs. The startled pair froze as the branches continued to crawl up them, winding around their arms.

“Diana, what was that?!”

“It’s a secret spell, handed down within the House of Cavendish. I simply provided the trees with nourishment, making them grow longer branches to trap those two.”

“…That’s amazing!”

“It’s nothing special. In any case, it’ll only buy us time. Once they tear their way out, it’s over.” Diana sounded as undaunted as ever. Then she shot me a sidelong glance, testing me. “And? You do have some sort of plan, don’t you?”

I nodded vigorously.

What’s going on?

I’d done magic with the Shiny Rod only once, and yet…for some reason, I felt as if I’d be able to use it right now.

The time was exactly midnight. Maybe that was why I felt this way: At this hour, the magic in moonlight was at its peak.

I raised the Shiny Rod firmly above my head as I continued to think. The first Sifla had gotten angry and transformed those two into their massive forms, but…she must still want them to go back to normal and grant her wish properly. I think.

I felt as if she had shown me these dreams, too, so that I could convey these wishes to them.

What do you wish for?

My wish was obvious. It’d been so ever since that day when I was six.

I wanted to become a fantastic witch like Chariot, to excite and thrill people all over the world. I wanted to let everyone know that if they believed in themselves, everybody could perform magic.

And if the first Sifla entrusted me with her desires…then there must be something I could do, too.

After all, a believing heart was my magic!

At warp speed, I handed Sifla the cure-all that Sucy had made. “Drink this.”

“Is it…?”

“The source of the fairy king’s power, apparently. We couldn’t get all the trees to revive, but we got most of them. I think it’ll probably work—at least a little.”

“It has elder in it as well, so I’m sure it’ll break the curse on those two and return them to normal.” Lotte smiled, trying to cheer her up.

“…Thank you.” Sifla’s eyes grew damp, and pulling herself together, she took several gulps from the flask. Then she looked straight at me. “Hey, Akko. Will you drink this, too?”

“Huh? Me? Why?”

“Well, you had that dream about the first Sifla, too, didn’t you?”

“I did, but I’ve got nothing to do with the fairy king.”

“No, you do. After all, your words inspired me to try my very best.”

“Sifla…”

“So drink. And then, if you wouldn’t mind…come with me. I’m sorry to keep dragging you into this mess, but I want to have you close to me, Akko.” Sifla smiled shyly at me.

I saw an aura around her—fragile yet somehow majestic. She made a splendid guardian of the hill.

I nodded and took a single swig from the flask.

“Let’s go.” With that, Sifla mounted her broom.

I got onto the back of Lotte’s, then glanced at Sucy out of the corner of my eye.

“…Aren’t you coming?”

Sucy gave a resigned shrug. “I suppose I should stay close to see how effective my potion is.”

“That’s my Sucy. That’s the spirit!”

All four of us soared up into the sky.

Bound tightly by the branches, the two animals continued to struggle, flailing their arms and legs. Little by little, the vines were snapping, and Sifla approached the pair cautiously as we anxiously watched her from behind. She tried to pour the concoction into their open mouths.

At that moment, I noticed that the Shiny Rod in my arms had begun to sparkle and gleam. Just like the revived sacred trees.

It was as if it was absorbing the moonlight, and I gingerly held it up, raising it into the sky.

For some reason, Feoras and Alan’s song echoed in my ears.

A wish shall become your strength on a blessed night of falling stars.

I felt like I finally understood.

I knew what my role was.

A believing heart was my magic.

In order to turn a wish into power…

…I’d show my magic to those three, to my new friends: Feoras, Alan, and Sifla.

“Awoooooooooooooo!”

“Mroooooooooooowr!”

Once Sifla got them to drink the potion, the pair began yowling again. Their combined vocal force nearly sent Sifla flying, but she pointed her wand at the two of them.

The amulets on our wrists were shining silver.

Under moonlight, our magic grew stronger and stronger. I could feel it welling up from the pit of my stomach, and at this point, I felt like I could do anything.

“Arnei Tolskal!!”

Without realizing it, at the exact same time I had brought the Shiny Rod down under the moonlight, Sifla had pointed her wand at Feoras and Alan.

Right then, the stars in the night sky seemed to puff up, swelling larger and larger, and I gulped.

They continued to expand, bubble, and sparkle. It was hard to think these stars were once just scattered dots in the sky. They were now so bright, everything else was dark.

And then, when it didn’t seem as though they could possibly get any bigger…

Baaaaang!

With an earsplitting noise, all the stars burst into countless fragments falling toward us. They scattered silver powder as they fell, whizzing through the night sky at an unbelievable speed.

Still clutching the Shiny Rod, I stretched out my arms.

“L-look!” someone shouted as I simultaneously gasped.

The old man and the lady had disappeared earlier, but there they were, up in the sky again.

They beckoned the first Sifla to climb up through the falling stars, and she turned to look back at us, smiling.

Next to her were two familiar figures: a cat and a dog. They were her friends, the ones I’d seen in the dream. Nestling close to one another, the three figures faded away against the moon.

I was sure they were bound for a paradise of love, a place where everyone got along, where all their wishes would come true.

“That’s the fairy king…,” I murmured. Lotte nodded emphatically, looking enraptured next to me.

…Incredible.

Magic was so awesome.

As the silver dust from the falling stars showered over them, Feoras and Alan shrank back to their normal size, slowly and quietly.

The silver dust sifted down onto Sifla, Feoras, and Alan and shone like crowns on their heads.

The Cait Sith and Cu Sith had finally returned to their four-legged forms, their eyes gentle and filled with tears.