奇 MIRACLE 跡

Venturing through Rose Garden was an experience akin to witnessing a constant miracle. Wondrous because everywhere there was magic; the lamps were sparkling lacrima crystals and the stones that made up a cobbled pavement had a slight shimmer that hinted at enchantment. Perpetual because with every glance, Hime's eyes alighted on a scene meant to bewilder her consciousness. A woman strolling along with her drink floating in the air next to her, miniature wings attached on opposite sides of the cup and flapping earnestly to prevent the beverage from tumbling to the ground. Circumstances like that; so with even a single step, the mage found herself revering the city more and more.

Hime would have been pleased to remain traipsing the streets for an endless period of time, but she was unfortunately unable to linger. Obtaining a passport was a boring and expensive chore, but the slayer required the miniature book if she hoped to access international work as a mage of Fiore. and of course there was the potential promise of vacations abroad, should she manage to scrounge up enough funds or figure time away from the guild and any duties in Fiore.

Within a surprising amount of time, considering her slow steps admiring the way, the girl found herself blinking in confusion at a horde of civilians in the middle of the street. They stood out so much from the soft glowing atmosphere so strongly effective throughout Rose Garden. The majority of people in the city seemed to be well dressed; not formal, but neat and with an air of sophistication. This crowd she had come upon clothed themselves plainly in nondescript or even flashy but clownishly garish garments, and a few had rips and food or sweat stains that spoke of second hand. It was a completely non-magical sight that irked Hime because it ruined the illusion of mystical beauty that she had received from the magic so far displayed during her journey. Yet, she could not ignore the evidence thatt this was really where she ought to have been the entire time: a few members of the mob hefted toddlers in their arms, while others fished in bags for official looking documents. The entire scene spoke of citizens waiting in line for government approval and registration. Hime herself only had a few slips of paper with codes and blocky shapes to be scanned into whatever magical or electrical databases of information were accessible to the passport registrars. She did suppose the line was necessary nonetheless and swiftly broke the still contours of her body to join the crowd in scuffing her feet against the smooth cobblestones as the queue shifted one centimeter per minute.

... It was simple to convince the official of her status as a citizen of Fiore. While she technically wasn't a legal working mage with permission to do international jobs, Hime fibbed a bit and claimed to be from Crystal Swan. Ideally no angry CS mages would come demanding that she reveal her name and emblem or even her true identity, if they were familiar with most of the members. Somewhat reassuringly though, the officials had not actually printed her guild in the passport. Such a circumstance would have meant keeping up the legal mage charade whenever she used the document, and though Hime was a passable actress on a bad day and delighted in messing with identities in the best of times, she had never been particularly interested in permanently being on the run from legal guild mages seeking the upstart who was feigning as one of their own. Perhaps the group wouldn't even care, but most of them seemed to want to keep their pristine reputation intact.

Regardless, the slayer departed with an uneasy concern in her stomach at her false claim and several skid marks left on the stones in her wake. Hime had never been light on her feet when her mind was sunk deep in thought.

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