Einar, don't be so reckless!
Yes!

　My name is Aina. This year I turned 12 years old so I could go to the woods. I was usually jealous of my big brothers playing in the forest.

　But now I can go to the forest too.

　I'm very excited.

'Oh, big brother!'
'Aina. Well, I see you're ready to come too.
'Yes!　Play with me!
Oh!

　Then my brother and I played a lot in the forest. We did a lot of things together, like climbing trees, watching bugs, and throwing pine cones at each other.

　It was very, very fun.

'Itadakimasu!
Hmm. Aina always eats so well.
I think I look like my mother, don't I?
Oh dear. It's just like you.

　Dad and mom are very close. My brother is smiling and laughing too. I was smiling at them too.

　My family is very close and very warm.

　I am very proud of my family.

　The next day I decided to go to the forest by myself. It seems my brother can't come because he has to study or something.

''Huh...?''

　Once in the woods, a man?　A woman?　I don't know what it was, but there was someone walking around with long white hair. He was wearing all black clothes and his skin and hair were pure white. I don't see anyone like this in my village. And I thought she was very........beautiful.

''Uh ... um ...''
Hmm?　What can I do for you, sweetheart?
Are you an angel?
What?
Because you are so beautiful.
'Hahaha, you're an angel. No, I'm not an angel. I'm just a human being, but I'm not yet a...
Hmm?

　I don't know, but that person played with me. And to my surprise, that person was........a wizard.

'Is this your first time seeing magic?'
'Yes........only a few people in this world can use magic.......'
No. No, we're not wizards by nature. We're all wizards in the end. I'm a wizard, and so are you.
Wow, can I be a wizard too?
Of course I do. Do you want to be?
'Yes!　I want to be like Mr. Rosenkreuz!
'Haha. Aina's cute.


　The wizard told me that his name was Rosenkreuz. But he didn't tell me the gender. 'Male or female, you say?　It's the least of my worries. I am Rosenkreuz. 'No more, no less, Aina,' he said.

　But it certainly didn't matter what gender I was.

　I was looking for a new stimulus. I vaguely thought, at a very young age, that I was going to spend all my life in this village and die here. But then Mr. Rosenkreuz came to me.

　From then on it was a very exciting day. He taught me magic, and I was able to use magic to a small degree.

'Yes!　I did it!　Mr. Rosenkreuz!
'That's great. Aina is an amazing talent!

　Then Mr. Rosenkreuz began to come to my house.

'My daughter has always been a great help to me,'
'No, no. Mother, I'm the one having fun playing with Aina. Besides, she has a talent for magic.
Magic?　Is that what you told her?　But if you can see that...
Yes. I'm a wizard.
'Well!　I never thought I'd meet a wizard while I was alive!

　Then Mr. Rosenkreuz got to know his father and his brother so well, it was like my family was growing.

　It was a very happy and fulfilling day.

　And the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and as more years passed, Mr. Rosenkreuz taught me his magic.

'That's amazing, Aina. Maybe one day I'll surpass you.
You're no match for Mr. Rosenkreuz.
You'll find out when you get out there. You'll be a good wizard.
The world outside...?
Oh. I'm a traveling wizard. I've been in many different countries all my life. And I've been looking for someone with talent.
Why are you looking for it?
...to be closer to God.
Is there a God?
Yes. There is God in me, and there is God in you. There is a God. But there are people who say there is no God in the world. That's why we want to prove that there is a God. There is a God in this world.
'We...?　Does Mr. Rosenkreuz have any friends?
Yeah, of course. I have plenty of wizard friends.
Wow....there are a lot of wizards out there...
Does Aina want to go outside?
What?
If you want to leave, we'll travel together. You're fifteen years old now. You're an adult, and if you tell your parents, you'll be fine.
I'm....

　Do I want to get out?

　What do they want to do out there?

　But what happens if you stay in this village all the time?

　It's just another day of boredom. Mr. Rosenkreuz will be here for a few years, but one day he'll be gone. And when that happens, what will happen to me?

　When I thought about it, my mind was made up.

'I'm going,'

　Then Mr. Rosenkreuz and I set out on our journey.


　◇


　My parents were worried, but they agreed. They said they felt safe with Mr. Rosenkreuz.

　Then we went to different countries. Some in the land of water, some in the desert, some in the mountains, some in the fire, and even some in the ice. I was happy to know that there are such wonderful things in the world. I also met many wizards. Every time I met a wizard, he told me that I was a great wizard and that I was indeed a disciple of Rosenkreuz.

　It seems that Mr. Rosenkreuz is one of the most amazing wizards in the world, and I was even prouder when I learned that.

　I'm under the thumb of an amazing person... or so it seemed.

　But the end was abrupt. No, it wasn't the end.

　It was a long, long, beginning. The beginning of a long journey that would drive me crazy.



"Back to the village?
Yeah. Aina's eighteen years old now, right?　Shouldn't you show up at least once?
'Well ... yes,'

　Mr. Rosenkreutz said so, and I decided to show up for the first time in years.

'Aina!　How are you!
Aina, you're so big!
Aina, you're getting pretty.

　My father, mother, and brother all praised me. And Mr. Rosenkreuz smiled at me, too.

　And the night. As I was about to go to sleep, it happened.

　I felt something unusual, a great magical force.

　I hurried to the living room.

　Then I saw my family and Mr. Rosenkreuz lying limp....


'Huh?　What's this?
Aina. Apparently, this world is a disaster. It will come crashing down. But you know, there is a way to save yourself. Come with me into the sky with me, and up in the sky you can still get out.
'What are you talking about...?　Can't we all go together?
...no matter what the cost. And it is the consensus of the Phanaticus, the seeker of truth. Understand that. Families are the cornerstone of our existence. For us wizards!
What ... what are you ... what are you talking about?

　I back away from it with too much fear. I've never seen Mr. Rosenkreuz like this before. Are you in a hurry?　Or..........

　Thinking about that, Rosenkreuz-san sighed.

''I knew you were........from that side. It can't be helped. It's at least a mercy. You and your family will be together.
What...?

　And my consciousness was cut off there.


　◇


　When I woke up, I found myself in a place I didn't know. A space where I didn't know anything and I didn't understand anything. Pitch-black and empty. But even in such a place, I could see something. I could see it. It was a wriggling ... giant spider.

　Hiiiiiiiiii!

　That's what I should have said out loud. But no voice?　Come to think of it, you seem to have an awfully high point of view?

　When I looked, I saw that I had no human limbs on my body. Well I had become a much bigger spider than those giant spiders.

　I, no! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!


　Screaming that did not improve the situation at all.

　Yes, nothing. Nothing.




　And so I ended up living in this dark place for hundreds of years....






　How long has it been since then? I know what the spiders here are. These spiders seem to listen to me and will do whatever I tell them to do. Wanting to know what is out there, I told them to collect the clothes and articles of human beings that came in. And when I saw them gathered before me, I longed for the outside world. But I can't go outside. I don't know how many hundreds of years have passed. I can't count the number of times I've thought about dying. But I can't die. I can't die when I have nothing to eat. I can survive forever.

　And I had a family up there, and I could feel my family up there with my senses. I've been exploring the facility and seeing things with magic. But there were limits.

　Just nothing.

　Nothing to do, nothing to do.

　Then one day, something happened, and the spiders started going out. I don't know why. But they seem to be going out and eating people.

　People. People. Am I human now?

　Who am I with the mind of a man and the body of a spider?

　After a while, I noticed three people entering this place. Those three people are coming closer and closer to us. And they killed my brother, my father, and my mother, and then they come here.

　But my family must have wanted it too. I knew. They had been turned into spiders, just like me.

　But death is a relief. I was jealous. I can't wait to be gone, to be with my family.

　The door opens. And in comes three humans.

　Oh you are in here a wizard. He is very powerful. He'll be able to finish me off.

　But suddenly I feel a burning sensation in my body.

'Kill him. Kill the intruder. Kill the intruder. That's your mission.

　I heard such a voice and I lost my reason.

　But with what little reason I had left, I asked him.

　He must have heard me. I want him to reach me, and I want him to reach me.

'Hey ... who are you?'
'You know what I mean.　I'll....
"Look at me.
"Hey, can you tell me your name?

　He was fighting hard. He was fighting this me.

　And in the midst of all this, I told him of my wish.











'Hey ... kill me ...'