Ira's tenth birthday morning started just like any other.
When she woke up, the sunlight was warm and golden, birds were chirping, and the fairy sisters were quietly standing by her window, casting gentle healing spells onto her pillow—just the usual routine.
She opened her eyes, stretched her arms lazily, and then, in the calmest voice imaginable, said:
"I've decided. I'm going to go see the humans."
And just like that—
the entire Fairy Forest went completely insane.
—
"Wait, wait, wait! Didn't you say the last time you went out, it was just to circle the lake? And that time, the Lake Spirit almost turned into vapor to escape you!"
"The human world is chaos! They use gold coins as currency, they fight with swords, and they even… they even have newspapers!"
"Did you read that book again? The one the gods left behind—'Human Observation Records'?"
Ira munched on a slice of cloudgrass toast, blinking innocently.
"Yup! It says humans give each other presents during festivals, sing songs around fire pits, get mad and then make up. It's so interesting! They're just like me!"
"Y-You think you're like them?" one fairy sister's hand trembled, spilling her floral tea across the table. "D-Don't tell me we've been raising a—"
Another fairy immediately cut her off, shaking her head with grave seriousness:
"No. We've been raising the final answer to the world."
—
While everyone else was still frozen in panic, Ira had already packed her tiny backpack
(contents: five kinds of cookies, two comic books, and one spare magic crystal),
and was happily bouncing her way toward the forest's edge.
An ancient silver stag knelt by the road, presenting a necklace of crystal blossoms, whispering,
"The First Light descends upon the mortal realm. All beings offer their reverence."
Ira put on the necklace, tilted her head, and asked,
"Are you saying that just because I'm pretty?"
The silver stag paused.
"…Yes. Obviously."
—
At the forest's edge, a divine book hovered mid-air, its pages turning on their own.
It belonged to the god who once gifted Ira her existence—an omniscient goddess too lazy to show up in person.
The book displayed a single line of text:
"The world is being rewritten. Please play slowly."
Ira blinked, then threw a peace sign up at the sky.
"I'll try not to sneeze too hard!"
The sky rumbled with a low, ominous growl.
She turned and stepped forward.
First step: outside the divine realm.
Second step: onto mortal soil.
Third step: she smiled.
"Humans, here I come!"
—
She hadn't made it more than thirty steps before her backpack gave a sudden twitch.
"Joo-joo-joo~ Task System Booting Up~!"
Startled, Ira rummaged through her bag and pulled out a round, plush toy.
She remembered—it was a gift from the goddess before she left, who'd said:
"This will help if you get into trouble."
The fuzzy thing bounced up onto her shoulder and opened its mouth:
"Hello, Miss Ira! I am your temporary travel supervisor and mission dispatcher: Lil' Ashu!"
Primary duties: Prevent accidental world destruction, assign adorable adventure quests, and deliver your favorite surprise snacks!
Ira blinked.
"Can you give me treats?"
"Yes, if you complete today's task without blowing up a human city."
—
The sky over Greenleaf Town was bright and sunny.
The scent of fresh bread drifted from a nearby corner.
Ira stood at the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild, one hand holding a map, the other clutching a cookie.
There was a smudge of cream at the corner of her mouth.
She looked up at the signboard, her eyes sparkling.
"Ashu! This is the place where you can make tons of friends, right?"
Ashu lay on her shoulder like a tired cat, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"Yes, yes… but humans usually look at your level before your personality. You're too strong, you'll scare them."
"Ohh~ so I need to touch the testing orb gently, right?"
"You're the kind of person whose 'gently' makes entire buildings shake."
—
The Adventurers' Guild was bustling with noise, packed with rookie hopefuls waiting to be tested.
When it was Ira's turn, the receptionist looked up, blinked, and did a visible double take.
She was tiny. Like, "Did someone lose their child?" tiny.
"Um… sweetie, what are you here for?"
"I want to become an adventurer!"
She raised her little red backpack like it was a sword of destiny and stood tall.
"I'm ready to make friends!"
The receptionist gave a nervous smile and waved someone over.
"Uh, An, take her to the testing area, would you?"
—
In the testing room, the mana crystal glowed softly, steadily assessing the previous candidate's power—a faint but clear blue light, textbook E-rank.
"Alright, place your hands on the orb. Don't be nervous~" the examiner said cheerfully.
Ira obediently extended both hands and gently placed them on the orb's surface.
Gently. So gently, even Ashu tensed up a little.
And then—
The orb flickered.
Flickered again.
Then started flashing like a disco on fire, spitting out crackling violet-black static before finally—
boom— it shut down with a faint, tragic sizzle.
The room went dark.
The entire testing system powered down.
A siren wailed from the console:
[ERROR 999: Mana reading exceeds system threshold]
[Device shutting down to avoid explosion]
[RECOMMENDATION: Submit individual to Central Divine Authority immediately]
The staff stared at the orb in shock, their faces pale.
"…T-This can't be real…"
Meanwhile, Ira just blinked.
"Eh? Did I break it? D-Did I press too long?"
Ashu slowly opened his deadpan eyes.
"I told you—'gently' means something different to you."
—
While the orb died with a pathetic pop and the entire room locked itself down in magical protection mode, commotion stirred outside.
Less than thirty seconds later, a wave of pressure rolled through the building as the door creaked open, and an old man in a deep violet robe stepped inside.
Everyone froze.
"M-Master Enod! W-Why are you here?!"
"I felt the mana veins of this building tremble," he said calmly, though his brow was furrowed.
Enod Hervien—legendary senior mana appraiser, third elder of the Hervien family, former investigator of Divine-Level Incidents in the capital—
Now stationed in this small town guild under the guise of retirement (a self-requested demotion, apparently).
He stepped into the room and immediately spotted the girl at the center—silver twin-tails, denim overalls, half a cookie in one hand, and what looked like a magically-compressed fuzzball on her shoulder.
Enod's pupils narrowed.
That mana ripple.
That divine resonance.
That lingering echo of sanctity in the air.
He knew it too well.
A hundred years ago, in the War of World Purification…
The god who descended from the sky alone, suppressing seven nations' core explosions and reducing a battlefield to peace with a single word: Milles.
And this child…
She carried the exact same frequency.
But her eyes—
They were clear.
Unknowing.
Unafraid.
Enod silently stepped toward the report scroll.
The numbers had glitched into arcane gibberish, the ranking listed as an infinity symbol.
He placed a hand on it.
The scroll burst into ash.
"Seal the records. No one speaks of this. She's F-rank. Bronze."
"But—but sir, her mana level is clearly… it's divine-class data—"
"I said," he repeated, firm and final, "she's F-rank. Bronze."
—
She crouched beside the now-dead mana orb, tilted her head, and said softly,
"Is it tired? I only touched it a little bit~"
A boy who had been leaning against the wall, waiting for his turn, glanced over—then froze.
His name was Sion, age fifteen, trainee adventurer.
Mature, calm, and usually disinterested in… basically everything. He'd only shown up today to get his E-rank and go home for tea.
But in that moment, he wasn't looking at "some kid who broke the machine."
He was thinking—
"She's like light itself… How can someone look that cute just crouching and talking to a broken orb like it's alive?"
He wanted to laugh. He kind of wanted to talk to her.
But he was worried. What if he scared her?
"No, no, this isn't one of those 'saw something cute, must interact' moments. I'm just… concerned she might get scolded. Yeah. That's all."
He walked over, and to his surprise, his voice came out gentler than expected.
"You okay? These machines act up sometimes during tests."
He wore a faded academy blazer, looked about fifteen, a bit shy, but his eyes were warm.
Ira looked up at him and suddenly smiled.
"Are you here to make friends too?"
His heart did a somersault.
"T-That's dangerous. That tone. That question. That's not conversation, that's bait. That's… she's fishing in the social sea with divine-grade charm."
He blinked, then nodded.
"…Uh, I guess? My name's Sion."
"I'm Ira! Let's become adventurers together!"
She beamed.
"Here, this is your badge."
Sion gently helped her pin it on.
"Bronze… F-rank. But that's okay. Everyone starts somewhere."
Ira looked down at the shiny little badge on her chest, cheeks slightly pink.
"I have a badge now! That means I can go on quests… with friends, right?"
Ashu floated lazily above her head, pulling out a tiny data scroll with a dramatic sigh.
[Fan Count Update in Progress…]
[New Follower: 1 (Sion)]
[Type: Overprotective Soft-Bro]
[Comment: He saw you destroy the orb in real-time and still stayed. Please take care of this one.]
—
Ira turned to him and asked,
"So, where should we go first?"
Sion smiled.
"Wherever you want. Just… maybe don't crash any more testing machines?"
"I'll try my best!"
She raised her little backpack like a hero hoisting a sword.
"Let's go on a quest—I want to help someone find their cat!"
Ashu muttered darkly,
"Great. First quest, and she's about to trigger divine-level forest cleansing mode."
—
That night, Enod sat alone in the Guild archives.
He quietly turned an ancient ring between his fingers, the engravings glowing faintly—an old divine name seal.
Its markings mirrored the image of a silver-haired girl still fresh in his memory.
He murmured to the quiet:
"I don't know who you are… but you're too much like her. This isn't coincidence. This is continuation."
"Whatever the truth may be… I'll protect you. Even if the world stands against you this time."
—
From that day on, a new thread of magic quietly joined Ira's shadow.
It wasn't surveillance. It was protection.
A deep, layered concealment spell—so fine even Ira couldn't sense it.
But Ashu noticed.
Floating midair, he squinted toward the moving trace of magic behind Ira and muttered:
"It's you, huh? The old man."
The shadow rippled faintly, like a nod.
"…Fine. You're not a bad guy."
Ashu yawned.
"But if you ever try anything extra, I'll turn you into corrupted data, got it?"
Silence. The magic faded again.
Ashu floated back to Ira's shoulder, swishing his tail.
"Ugh. She hasn't even made a real friend yet, and she's already got a live-in bodyguard."