An Unborn Hero

"And can you believe it, Rrillandral and Dreobeth are in a relationship!" sent Kellela as she walked down a street on the outskirts of the capital, employing [Telepathy] to talk to Mystery. Or perhaps at Mystery would be a better description, given that she didn't exactly expect a reply. That didn't stop her talking almost endlessly, though; her [Telepathy] had reached a level high enough to speak smoothly, and she didn't even need to pause for breath. She kept it up mostly in the hopes that the stimulation would help. "I mean, they both deny it, but when you see them together, it's obvious."

"Nnnn... Five more minutes..."

Kellela froze suddenly in the middle of the street, causing a familiar muscular man with a heavy two-handed sword strapped to his back to crash into her.

"Oi! Watch it!" exclaimed the buff [Barbarian] with a frown, his trio of party mates stopping too and glaring at Kellela. At least at first. As they more carefully examined who they were glaring at, their looks warped into something closer to alarm. Regardless, Kellela ignored them.

"Mystery? Can you hear me?" she asked, still using [Telepathy], not even daring to breathe lest she miss a response.

"Nnnn... I said five more minutes...!"

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" yelled the barbarian, unable to hear the telepathic conversation.

"Umm... Perhaps you should leave her alone? Look at her hair," hissed one of the party members. "She might be one of them."

"Actually, doesn't she look familiar?" asked another. "Pretty sure we've bumped into her before somewhere."

"I think you've slept for long enough, young lady!" exclaimed Kellela, this time out loud as well as telepathically. With the second response, she was certain she wasn't simply imagining things. Mystery had responded to her [Telepathy]!

"Mum... Don't shout..."

"Oh great. A mental patient. If you want to have a moment, do it somewhere else," demanded the wall of muscle, reaching for Kellela's head.

She caught his wrist, turned to look him in the eye, raised an eyebrow, let just enough mana into [Magical Girl Transformation] that her clothes began to glow around the edges, then squeezed.

The adventurer whimpered as his bones clicked and squeaked.

"Told you," said the first party member, before turning and running.

"Karn's Vigil! That's where we saw her!" exclaimed the second, following it up with something else that no-one heard on account of the way he was already half a street away and still accelerating.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to play with you delinquents today. Something important just came up," patiently explained Kellela, then tossed Brutus into the air and ran off home, stopping only long enough to poke her head into the adventurers' guild and apologise that she was going to need to cancel the day's magical girl class.

The irony that Brutus had been in the capital to attend her class was something that neither party would ever discover. Brutus hadn't taken part in the defence against the monster stampede, fleeing with his party to avoid dying in what he believed to be a pointless fight, and so had missed out on the achievements and levels the successful defenders received. He returned to find everyone promoted to or above his own silver rank, all giving him the stink-eye for being such a coward, and to make things even worse, the forest didn't even have any more monsters to hunt.

"Mystery! Mystery!" shouted Kellela as she ran, returning to [Telepathy].

"So tired... Do I have to get up today...?"

She slammed open the door to their home, trying to call to Hayedalf, but not having enough breath left. She just stood in the doorway, panting.

Hayedalf came running down anyway, alerted by the slamming door.

"Dear?" he called.

"Mystery... It's Mystery..." managed Kellela before her panting interfered.

"Mystery? What's wrong with Mystery?"

Kellela stuttered a few times as she tried to get her breath back, before remembering she didn't have to. "Mystery is waking up!" she exclaimed through [Telepathy].

Hayedalf's eyes opened wide. "How is she? What does she remember?"

"I don't know; she's not really being responsive. She's just mumbling about how sleepy she is."

Hayedalf sighed. "You're getting too worked up. Firstly, why didn't you transform to run back here? It would have saved you from being so breathless. Secondly, if she's able to talk about how sleepy she is, she obviously remembers enough to speak. So, next obvious question; which language is she speaking?"

Kellela blinked, realising she hadn't cast [Translate]. "Ours... Or else she's using [Translate] herself. And she called me 'Mum'!"

"That's promising, then; not only does she remember something, but she must remember something since crossing over here."

Kellela nodded enthusiastically. "Mystery? Can you hear me?" she sent.

"Mum..." whined Mystery, piggybacking on Kellela's [Telepathy]. "I'm trying to get up... I'm just so tired..."

"It's okay, my precious little [Hero]. Take your time."

"Hero...?" asked Mystery, still sounding sleepy and confused. "Why is it so dark...? Why are you waking me up in the middle of the night...?"

"Actually, little one, it's coming up to midday."

"Then why can't I see?" replied Mystery, sounding more awake, but her voice laced with a touch of panic. "Where are you? I can't see. I... I can't move! Mum, why can't I move?!"

"It's okay. You're okay. There was... an accident. You're perfectly fine," reassured Kellela, her words belying the expression on her face. "She's panicking about being blind and immobile!" she vocally warned Hayedalf.

"How can I be fine?! What's wrong with me?!"

"Mystery?" called Hayedalf, joining in the telepathic connection.

"Dad? Is that you? Where are you? Where am I?"

"That's... going to be a bit difficult to explain. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I... I was sewing. Then there was a huge crash. I remember the wall of the house peeling away, and then the floor collapsed, and I was falling. I was screaming... and... and... nothing. What happened after that? Did I break my neck in the fall? Am I paralysed? Why can't I see?!"

The pair of parents shared a look, Kellela coming close to panicking herself. "She's still speaking our language, and she's calling us Mum and Dad," reassured Hayedalf out loud. "Not to mention she's talking telepathically. There must be more there than she consciously remembers."

To Mystery, he sent, "This is going to sound strange, but you need to trust me. You aren't blind, you just haven't opened your eyes."

"My eyes? I... I can't! I can't even open my eyes!"

"Stay calm. You aren't hurt at all, I promise. You've just forgotten a few things."

"Forgotten? How can I have forgotten how to open my eyes?"

"Well, how are you talking to me right now?"

"..."

"What did you say that for?" exclaimed Kellela. "Now she'll have realised she wasn't moving her mouth, and think she can't speak!"

"Mum? Dad? Your voices are... in my head. I can't hear anything... But I'm talking the same way... Ohmygosh! Is this, like, some sort of robocop thing? My body got so badly damaged in the fall that you had to transplant my brain into a robot?"

"Uh..." pondered Hayedalf. "I don't know what a robot or robocop is. I think you slipped back into English there. But as far as I understand it, you wouldn't be completely wrong to say your body was so badly damaged that you were in need of a replacement."

"That is so cool! Wait... I wasn't speaking English? Huh? When did I...?"

Kellela and Hayedalf shared a look. "Cool?" asked Kellela incredulously.

"Yeah. Totally! Not my first choice of fictional situation to get trapped in, but beggars can't be choosers. Better than dying in that fall, anyway."

"And what would be your first choice?" asked Hayedalf out of morbid curiosity, despite being able to make a reasonable guess at the answer.

"To be chosen as a magical girl to protect Earth, obviously! Don't you know me at all?"

Kellela sniggered.

"Oi! Mum! Don't laugh!" pouted Mystery.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," she said, somewhat relieved that Mystery was no longer panicking, even if there were still a few misunderstandings to sort out.

"So, how do I open my eyes? Am I out of batteries? Do I need recharging?"

"No, you don't need recharging," laughed Hayedalf. "Uh, how do you explain [Soul's Eye], let alone [Astral Projection]?"

"What's with that weird inflection on 'soul's eye' and 'astral projection'? You sound like you're speaking in capitals. Wait... are they...? They sounded like skill names. Did I get a genre upgrade? Status!"

The telepathic link went silent.

"Mystery?" called Kellela.

"... So, first question," came an answering voice, somewhat quieter than it had been. "Why is my age listed as minus fifteen years?"

"Uh... This is why you can't move yet. You don't, exactly, have very much to move."

"Yes, that much is obvious, but fifteen years?! It says I'm human! It can't be serious! Please tell me I've been isekaied somewhere years are way shorter..."

"She really has forgotten..." Kellela said aloud.

"You earned a few achievements that boosted your lifespan. Not really the sort of things you should have been getting before being born, and so there were unfortunate side effects," explained Hayedalf. "Look up [Diligent Hero], [True Hero] and [The Final Cycle]."

The link went quiet again as Mystery explored her full status.

"So, let me get this straight. I've had an awesome isekai adventure, created a squad of magical girls and purified a demon lord, all before being born? That definitely ranks above robots! Or would, if I remembered any of it."

"You called us Mum and Dad, and you're speaking our language. I think you have a few more memories buried in there than you think."

This time the response wasn't words, but rather Mystery bursting out from Kellela. Or at least, her soul bursting out, which was considerably less messy than the alternative.

"Oh? For some reason, I was expecting you to have blond hair," said Mystery, peering at Kellela. "Must be mixing you up with someone else... And how come I can see behind me? That's just weird."

"You used [Astral Projection]! Wait, if you can see hair colour, you used [Soul's Eye] too!"

"I know! How cool is this! I can fly! Although... I'm getting the distinct impression that using this skill is dangerous. Am I not supposed to?"

"Well... It's certainly true that it's caused you a couple of problems, not least why your memory is a bit patchy. But on the other hand, without it you never would have been able to speak to us at all."

Mystery pondered as she spun upside down. "Wait, that's why I expected you to have blonde hair! If this is an isekai thing, you aren't my real parents!"

Hayedalf froze, while Kellela visibly paled.

"Ah... Sorry! I shouldn't have said 'real'. Uh... I mean, original parents? Sorry, this is weird. No, wait... I knew you were my parents. I... I know your names. You are Kellela and Hayedalf, right? But... but... why can't I remember my old parents' names? I know old-Mum had blond hair. I think? I can't even picture her face!"

"You're panicking again. You were injured fighting that demon lord, and your memory was damaged," warned Hayedalf, once again reminded about how Mystery had never before mentioned her Earthen family, and hence not completely convinced her inability to remember personal details from Earth was due to the demon lord. "I can understand how distressing that must be, but we're here with you. This world owes you a lot."

Kellela waved a hand at Mystery, but it passed straight through. "Hayedalf? She's in need of hugs. I think it's time to break out your present."

"Present?" asked Mystery. "Something that lets you hug me? Wait... didn't you have this conversation before? I was... upset about something. A girl? Someone blue? Wearing blue? Some sort of flower, or were everyone flowers? But... he said he couldn't? I think?"

Hayedalf gave a little laugh. "Mucking around with souls isn't exactly an accepted pass-time," he explained. "But it turned out that helping to end the threat of the demon lord forever earns a lot of goodwill from the powers-that-be, not to mention the demon lord was nice enough to give me some inspiration."

"And the girl was Rose," added Kellela. "Do you remember Rose?"

"Rose? It's familiar... why do I...? Oh! I remember! She kissed Grace! I'd been waiting months for that and it finally happened! Please tell me they got together?"

That was enough to make Kellela laugh, too. "Yes, they're engaged," she answered.

"Yes! Yuri romance, get! Wait... Engaged? And... this doesn't look like the sort of area the demon lord would hang around. And Dad had time to make a present? It wasn't just lost memories, was it...?"

"You've been unconscious for a few months. Sorry."

Mystery bobbed around for a bit. "You were the pink and black ones. Rose was blue and Grace was white. Wasn't there a green one, too? Who was the green one?"

"An elf called Rrillandral."

Mystery froze.

"Mystery?" called Kellela. "Are you alright?"

"No! The moment you mentioned elves, I remembered their king pouting, dressed up as Rrillandral. If I was going to forget things, why couldn't I forget that?"

"Well, I think this is going well," commented Hayedalf. "I don't think you've forgotten as much as it seems. Maybe some details, but mostly it seems more like confusion than memory loss. Hopefully you'll continue to recover."

"Anyway, go and fetch that!" encouraged Kellela.

Hayedalf vanished through a doorway, returning a minute later with a moderate-sized gift-wrapped box, placing it on a table.

"Umm..." said Mystery after a few moments of silence. "Unless there's something else I've forgotten, I don't have hands? I didn't see a telekinesis skill on my status..."

Hayedalf paled.

"Dear?" asked Kellela, wondering what the problem was.

"Oh, it's nothing," he lied, looking away in embarrassment as he realised the slight oversight in his design.

"If you say so," agreed a dubious Kellela, before unwrapping and opening the package while Mystery watched on from above.

"It's a... purple kitten?" she observed. "With wings? If it's to do with hugging, is it something I can cuddle despite using [Astral Projection]?"

"It's far better than that!" exclaimed Hayedalf, recovering quickly in the face of an excuse to talk about his Artefact. "It's a directly controllable golem, designed to be piloted by an astral projecting soul!"

Mystery peered.

"It's a kitten," she observed, for the second time.

"Well, there were size limitations," mumbled Hayedalf, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "And we didn't want people mistaking you for a Grachen."

"It has no hands," added Mystery. "Just cute little paws."

"Sorry. I was so focused on vocal cords and designing a functional audio sensor that I may have forgotten one or two more basic requirements."

"It's a magical girl mascot," cried Mystery, spotting the yellow flower-shaped pattern of fur on its forehead, putting it together with the wings, and jumping to the obvious conclusion.

ding

For stating the obvious, [Investigation] advances to level 9.

"Hah! I knew they were your fault!" exclaimed Kellela.

"What were?"

"Ever since you messed up the demon lord, it's been producing these things instead of monsters."

"Is that a problem?"

"Only if you run out of cake and let yourself get surrounded. Although even then, you can normally escape by suggesting a game of hide and seek and then running for it."

Mystery pondered, gave the psychic equivalent of a shrug, then dived right in. She'd long since resigned herself to being the mascot and not the magical girl, at least until she grew up a bit. Being able to look the part wouldn't hurt. Nor would being able to hear properly, or speak.

Nor would hugs from her mum.

And it wasn't as if she'd get stuck in that body forever.

ding

You have bonded with the Artefact [The Original Mascot].

"Oh..." said Mystery out loud, the newly bonded artefact seamlessly responding to her will.

"Wow, that was fast!" exclaimed Hayedalf. "I was expecting it to take you a while to work out how to control..."

ding

Hayedalf Catter the Human has obtained the legendary achievement [Bonded Artefact Forger] at the age of 28.

Hayedalf froze mid-sentence.

"Wow!" exclaimed Kellela. "Not just an Artefact, but a bonded Artefact. Looks like all your hard work paid off!"

The golem kitten jerked oddly, seemingly teleporting half an inch into the air. Hayedalf paled once more.

"Dear?" asked Kellela. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Bonded Artefacts cannot be lost or destroyed," dryly commented Mystery. "I'm stuck in an indestructible and unbearably cute cage forever!"

ding

Achievement Unlocked: [Administrative IOU]

"I'm sure we can figure something out," suggested Hayedalf, although his wavering voice suggested he had no idea what.

Administrative IOU (N/A)

This is an automated message that you've been detected doing something insane again, and that administrative intervention is required to sort it out. Unfortunately, all administrators are currently on a stress-relieving vacation. Rest assured that should the stability of the world be at stake, they will already be rushing back to the office. Otherwise, please stand by, and aid will be dispatched as soon as it becomes available.

Mystery glared at Hayedalf—an expression that was only barely more intimidating coming from such a cute magical kitten than it was coming from an invisible and eyeless floating soul—and then blasted him with [Cosplay].