The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

"I'm not planning to give up, so go ahead and try to stop me."
[Oh? And do you have a plan?]

"Well, I'm alive, at least. I'm young, I'm healthy."
Now that she was no longer trapped in the form of a mouse, her sealed abilities had returned.
What more could she ask for from the heavens?

The only thing left was to push herself to the brink—until she broke through her limits.
Elodie couldn't afford to set a limit on her own capabilities.
Because if she did, she wouldn't be able to accomplish anything.

She wouldn't be able to prevent Eisen’s death.
She would have no choice but to stand by and watch as Edmund perished miserably on the battlefield, never even buried in his homeland.
And she wouldn’t be able to break the curse of the Ratson family.

If that was the case… could she even claim to bring happiness to Sera?
"I just have to do something."
[Anything?]

The fire spirit scoffed at the naïve little harvest mouse who had no grasp of reality.
"If I need to master purification, then I’m prepared to throw myself into the most contaminated filth to do it. Or I could inject poison into my own body—"
[That’s just stupid.]

But even as he sneered, his expression quickly shifted into one of utter disbelief.
Even though he had outright insulted her, Elodie simply grinned, flashing her white front teeth.
It doesn’t matter.

I’ve already mastered self-healing. No matter what I do to myself, I’ll survive.
So she might as well use it to her advantage.
"Just sit back and watch. I’ll make sure you don’t have anything to be disappointed about."
[You’re not actually the reincarnation of Raphael, are you?]

"Huh?"
[…Never mind.]
Inferno dismissed the thought, shaking his head at Elodie's puzzled face.

[You can’t even make a simple scar balm, and you’re talking big. Hurry up and do it properly.]
"Ah—right!"
Elodie scrambled to retrieve the beeswax again, quickly placing it into a fresh beaker.

"But seriously, what are all these ingredients? I’ve never even heard of them before."
[This is a divine temple. Naturally, it’s filled with things that don’t exist in this world.]
Things that didn’t exist anywhere on earth?

Elodie suddenly felt like she understood how the first High Priest had been able to perform miracles like resurrection and reincarnation.
She’d have to read the books for the full details…
Someday, I’ll be able to.

"Hey, Inferno, lower your flames a bit. It’s way too hot."
[Hmph.]
The fire spirit flopped onto the ground, resting his chin on his hand as if granting her a great favor.

[If you finish that book in a month without my help, I’ll cooperate.]
"A month?"
Elodie eyed the book—it was thicker than her entire arm.

Was that even physically possible?
[If you can’t even manage that, how are you supposed to master everything in this library? That book is the absolute basics. It’s for beginners. For people worse than beginners. For—]
"Alright, alright! Just wait and see. I’ll finish it in two weeks."

And as if the moment of doubt had never existed, her eyes burned with renewed determination.
***
She regretted it immediately.

Had it really been her mouth that had blurted out she’d finish in two weeks?
The spirit had already been generous enough to give her a full month—so why had she personally decided to make it harder on herself?
How had she fallen for such an obvious taunt…?

Elodie let out a long sigh.
Then again, there really isn’t much time.
It was painfully obvious that she needed to act as soon as possible.

The problem was, she could only sneak into the Temple of Healing at night, which meant she couldn’t study during the day.
And now, on top of that—
"Hey, shoo."

She waved her hand impatiently.
As if cramming beginner-level herbal medicine in a time crunch wasn’t bad enough—
Magic Cotton was being a nuisance again.

It had developed a habit of flying just out of her reach, hiding in places where she couldn't see it, or otherwise being a complete menace.
"Grrr…!"
Elodie spun in circles.

She was trying to catch the puffballs that were dodging behind her back.
She probably looked like an idiot—a dog chasing its own tail.
"Ha… deddah. (Fine.)"

Elodie gave up with a heavy sigh.
Whatever. Just follow me around, then.
Why was this thing so stubborn?

It probably held a grudge because she kept locking it up in her room whenever she went out.
But there was a good reason for that.
"If I techu (take you) wid me, I loose all my dinnidy (dignity)."

Every time someone saw it, they made a huge fuss about how adorable it was.
Damn it, she had zero intention of looking cute!
How was it that the same people calling her cute had also tried to break down a wall to eat her alive?

Insane beasts.
Then again, wasn’t Magic Cotton supposed to be nothing more than a clump of mana?
So why did it feel like it had developed self-awareness?

It was supposed to act purely on survival instincts.
Wasn’t it supposed to follow her around like a sunflower reaching for sunlight?
But this behavior felt too intelligent.

Now that I think about it, it really does seem stronger when it’s near me… Could it be…?
Elodie stared at the Magic Cotton, which was finally creeping closer now that she had stopped chasing it.
After a quick glance around, she hesitated—then lowered her voice.

"Can… you unnerstann me?"
"……."
"If you can, nod."

"……."
Nothing.
That was stupid.

Elodie scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Giving life to an inanimate object?
She had heard countless times that the Ratson bloodline was extraordinary, but that was going way too far.

Just as she was about to shake it off and leave—
"……."
She noticed Eagles peeking at her from behind a stack of documents, visibly trembling.

"…You saw?"
"I did not, under any circumstances, witness the Young Lady attempting to communicate with Magic Cotton, nor did I see her blushing in embarrassment afterward."
That was extremely specific.

Elodie felt her face heat up but forced herself to remain calm.
"Fuhget wot you saw."
"I don’t think there’s anything to be embarrassed about. It’s perfectly normal for children your age."

Would he please move the papers from his face?
And wipe that smirk out of his voice?
"Young children often invent imaginary friends and talk to them. It’s part of their develop—"

Eagles froze mid-sentence.
As if realizing his mistake, he immediately straightened up and spoke solemnly.
"My apologies. That was an inappropriate remark. The Young Lady’s imaginary friend is real."

An imaginary friend that was real.
What kind of ridiculous contradiction was that?
She was furious.

"It’s not a ‘magingary* (imaginary) frien’!"
Sure, she had concluded that Magic Cotton probably didn’t have a real consciousness…
But hearing it said so bluntly still made her indignant.

Those puffballs had gotten mad at her for leaving them behind!
"You saw it, dintcha? Magic Cotton gets stron-ger when its wid me."
She distinctly remembered the moment everyone had been baffled, wondering if the Ratson bloodline was actually capable of something like that.

"…That’s true."
"Then can’t it get even stronger?"
"Hmm…"

For the first time, Eagles wiped the teasing expression off his face and looked genuinely thoughtful.
"When you put it that way… Magic Cotton’s essence is pure mana, which is a type of life energy. It’s not an entirely impossible theory."
"Zactly!"

It wasn’t like she was trying to bring a desk or a quill to life—Magic Cotton already had some kind of movement.
Surely, it wasn’t impossible to take it further.
"And if…"

If the Young Lady really had the power to grant life to Magic Cotton…
Eagles trailed off, deep in thought.
Then, he came to a conclusion.

"If that’s truly within your abilities, then I believe you may have potential comparable to Raphael—the first Lord of the Ratson Lineage, who was said to have revived the dead."
Did you hear that, Fire Spirit?
Elodie puffed out her chest, striking a triumphant pose.

You were so busy treating me like a dumb kid and testing me, but look at me now.
"Of course," Eagles added lightly, "the claims about resurrecting the dead were likely exaggerated."
No, they weren’t.

Elodie thought of Raphael’s book.
One day, she would read it.
One day, she would reach that level.

But for now, it was still a distant, hazy goal.
For now… I need to focus on raising it properly.
Elodie had made her decision.

She would let Magic Cotton stay with her.
Even if it made her look less dignified.
Even if it made her look cute.

And just as she turned—
She saw it.
In the corner of the terrace.

A shadow she recognized.
A black snake.