--Tina''s side--


    How long I walked....


    I walked to the forest to be alone.


    I was scared when Eric and I came here when I was little, but I''ve been here so many times now that I don''t have those feelings anymore.


    Am I....stronger...than I was then?


    Maybe if you ask Eric that question, he will absolutely affirm it.


    But the only reason I am strong is because of Eric.


    I decided to practice my magic for Eric.


    Ever since I was a child Eric has been practicing swords and magic for a purpose that I''m sure he has a purpose in mind.


    I was the only person Eric had to play with, and we practiced magic together in a playful way.


    Practicing magic was actually fun, Eric taught me, and then I taught him... it was fun and I was able to do it all the time without any trouble.


    But Eric....he wielded his sword the whole time with a pained expression on his face, and he did his magic all the time until he passed out.


    I don''t remember when.


    Why are you working so hard?


    I remember asking him.


    Then Eric looked a little annoyed and tried to answer.


    ''Well I guess if I don''t do it, it''s because I''ll regret it?


    Regret...?


    Well I can''t tell you yet - I don''t want to lose it.


    Eric said and patted my head.


    At that time, I wanted Eric to treat me like a sister, so I stroked my head right back.


    But now - I''m not happy about being treated like a sister anymore.


    The last time I fought that man, Eric asked me to do it for him.


    For the first time in a long time, he called me "Tina".


    It was more heartfelt to call me "Tina sister" than to be called formally "Tina sister".


    I - I want to be the one to protect Eric.


    Eric relies on me ... and I rely on him.


    I''m not in front of him, and I''m not behind him.


    --I want to stand next to Eric, I do.


    So, I decided that this time I was going to learn magic for real.


    In order to stand next to Eric, I would have to get better at magic.


    So I tried to get Eric to teach me magic better from now on, but that''s not going to happen.


    It''s not going to happen anymore.


    When I think of that, I start to cry again and wipe it away with my hand.


    And while I was wiping........I heard something deep in the forest.


    I thought it was a demon and immediately tried to get into a fighting stance, but my eyes are filled with tears, so my surroundings appear hazy.


    It''s not the roar of a demon or anything like that, it''s probably a human voice.


    I didn''t think there were people here, but I was curious about who was doing what, so I move closer to the direction of the voice without making a sound of footsteps.


    After a short walk, I can see people through the trees.


    Two ... well, three people are in the forest, digging in the ground there.


    When I checked the three people, they were the people I was recruiting at Eric''s house earlier.


    Probably the people from the Royal Capital Order.


    After looking at it for a while, the ground seems to have been dug up, and what came out was........is that a person?


    I looked closely at the person who came out of the ground and saw that it was the person Eric had killed a week ago.


    At some point, someone - maybe it was Eric - had buried that person in the ground.


    Why would they dig up that person?


    Moreover, Yele-san, who was talking to Eric earlier, said that if Eric hadn''t killed him here, the Begonia Kingdom would have been corrupted.


    I didn''t think that man was such a dangerous person.


    With a man like that Eric was fighting alone.


    If it weren''t for me, Eric would probably be dead.


    When I think about it, I get a little scared, but when I think about it, I''m glad I was able to be of service because I was there.


    But.........that wasn''t what bothered me the most about the story Yele-san was telling me.


    ''''I, His Majesty, the head of the Order of Magical Knights and other higher-ups knew about it, but.......this man was the next king of the Kingdom of Harzion.''''


    When I heard those words I knew I still had a chance.


    A chance to be with Eric, a chance to stand next to him all the time.


    I made up my mind a few moments later and appeared in front of those people with my footsteps.


    The moment I heard my footsteps, two people other than Mr. Yelle looked at me with their hands on the sword they were carrying at their waists.


    Seeing those two turn their hostility towards me doesn''t scare me at all.


    I had been with Eric for a long time, and I felt that those two were no stronger than me.


    On the contrary, I feel more threatened by Yele-san, who shows no hostility..............and doesn''t show any upset when I come out of the room making noise.


    His expression didn''t change but he seemed to be asking me with his eyes if I wanted something from him.


    I''m not that used to people, I''ve always been shy since I was a kid.


    Normally I wouldn''t be able to say anything if someone this scary stared at me - but I can do anything to be with Eric.


    ''''--What do I have to do to get into the Order of Magic?