Miracles and magic aren't free

As the "Rose Witch," Lisa had neither a broom that could turn into a person nor the ability to brew Dona tea, but she did have a very powerful grimoire.

It was a tool she had tailored to her own needs, as well as a lethal weapon. It could store many spells at once: offensive, defensive, utilitarian, purely decorative... Elements had never been shackles on the imagination.

Of course, these spells were all single-use consumables. Once she used them up, she had to write them again herself.

"Ah~ Honestly, isn't it unreasonable to send a librarian to fight on the front lines in the first place?"

The librarian complained without even lifting her fingertips from the pages. With a casual bolt of lightning, she reduced a monster lurking in the shadows to ashes.

Hey, you goddamn Hilichurl! Have a taste of my five-hit lightning whip!

After watching expectantly for a while and confirming that nothing like a mask had dropped, Gabrielina turned back to Lisa, looking rather speechless. "Being this good at fighting isn't normal for a librarian, either! Who are those spells meant for? Knights who accidentally turn their backs on you while borrowing books?"

"Why would I attack them... I wouldn't even get the chance, would I? The Knights of Favonius library is even more deserted than the summit of Dragonspine."

Gabrielina looked at Lisa's troubled expression, then at Lumine's helpless face, and didn't know what to say.

It sounded pretty miserable, but having a job like that seemed a little enviable, too.

Back when the angel had still been an ordinary person, her family had been fairly well-off and doted on her. But to "experience life," she had asked some local friends and found herself a part-time job.

The hourly pay was high, the boss was nice, it was close to her rented apartment, and business was good.

The only downside was that business was far too good.

She would never forget the stunned expressions on the police officers' faces when they rushed over and learned that the crowd packing the road wasn't rioting, but waiting in line.

"Rather than these ordinary spells, I'm much more interested in you, you know?"

The girl tilted her head and pointed at herself. "Me?"

"Of course. No matter how you look at it, you're nothing short of extraordinary." Lisa's lips curved slightly, a sly gleam in her eyes. "An ability close to 'teleportation,' the power to create weapons, and you can even... stay in the air all the time!"

Lumine looked at the halo above the girl's head, its warm, gentle light falling over her. Who could possibly imagine that other scene?

From the sky to the earth, everything crumbled helplessly, and even the elements drifting through the air seemed to be devoured completely. The pure-white angel was stained with darkness, then spread that pitch-black power across the world.

Though she had looked harmless both last night and now, Lumine knew perfectly well how powerful she was.

While Gabrielina wasn't looking, Lumine tightened her grip a little more.

"I don't understand."

Lisa unconsciously twirled the ends of her hair around a fingertip, her brow full of confusion. "Just like equivalent exchange in alchemy, all 'magic' should have prerequisites! Why do you..."

At that moment, Lisa lost the mature older woman's easy composure. She looked more like a student who had been brimming with confidence, only to discover she couldn't even answer the first part of the final question.

"Lisa..."

Gabrielina interrupted Lumine and extended a wing toward Lisa under her puzzled gaze.

"Touch it."

"Th-that wouldn't be appropriate, would it?" Lisa waved her hands, but her eyes stayed honestly glued to the clusters of white feathers.

"Don't make me impatient. Get on with it yourself, hurry!"

Lumine: ?

This woman had been troubled by this for a long time. Fluffy little animals always ran away because of the static electricity she released unconsciously. Feathers probably couldn't quite compare to fur, but they were close enough.

So, after a token protest, she reached out with her sinful hands.

Her silk-covered fingers slowly slid over the roots of the feathers, her fingertips sometimes sinking into the down, sometimes gently tracing the edges of the longer plumes. Someone's breathing gradually grew heavier, and a blush slowly crept up her cheeks.

It really is like stroking a little bird's feathers. Then... that little cutie at the Cat's Tail Tavern... No, petting her might be harder than petting a cat...

"What do you think?" Gabrielina looked at the inexplicably entranced Lisa and gave her a hard flick with her wing.

"Ah!" Lisa cried out, rubbing the soft flesh of her chest and sneaking a glare at Gabrielina. "It feels lovely... No, I mean, I can sense some kind of powerful force, but only faintly."

Lisa hemmed and hawed. In truth, she hadn't felt anything at all, so she could only offer vague remarks that sounded plausible.

"Hmph... That's exactly right!"

"?"

"If you could figure out all my secrets that easily, I might as well give up making my way in the world~"

Under Lumine's relieved gaze and Lisa's defeated one, the girl set one hand on her hip and drew her wing back.

"Lisa, have you ever heard this saying?"

After a brief pause, Gabrielina smiled and held out her right hand.

Pitch-black energy poured from her palm. The almost liquid substance churned, yet gave off a hum like metal striking stone. Every time its shape changed, Lisa could sense a faint movement of the elements in the air.

All kinds of elements, especially the remarkably abundant "wind" in this temple, seemed to be converging on the girl's hand.

"Miracles and magic aren't free."

"Lumine, you can use Anemo without a Vision. You gained that power just by resonating with a statue, right?"

Lumine parted her lips slightly and nodded.

"Yes. I seem to be a little different from other people."

"So, in Lisa's eyes, Lumine is an 'exception.'" The girl turned her wrist slightly, and the black energy rapidly solidified between her slender, pale fingers. "But some things never change, and one of them is the 'price.'"

So what's the price.jpg

"It's like making a deal with the world-the Heavenly Principles. We all have to give something up, and even what we gain must eventually be lost, just as monsters return to the Ley Lines after they're killed."

"Ugh, what Gabrielina's saying is so hard to understand... Paimon's head is spinning..."

Lisa looked at another Hilichurl she had killed, her brows drawing together slightly. She could clearly understand what the angel meant.

"But I... haven't felt that I've lost anything..." Lumine raised a hand and gently pressed it to her chest.

"Don't worry... Lumine, you're actually the most special of all of us."

"Huh?"

The angel suddenly flipped her wrist and hurled the dagger the instant it took shape! The pitch-black weapon tore through the air and down the passage, pierced a panicking Hilichurl, and finally smashed the wind stone to pieces.

With the last stone destroyed, the three whirlwinds attacking Mondstadt finally dispersed.

"You came from beyond the heavens. You're a variable in this world." The girl gazed into Lumine's gradually widening amber eyes and said firmly, "If there's such a thing as a 'hero' or a 'protagonist,' it has to be someone like you."

"Can I really...? I..." Can't even beat you.

"If the 'protagonist' were invincible from the start, wouldn't that just make it a boring power fantasy? I hate stories like that."

She let Lumine unconsciously tighten her grip on her hand, and when no one was looking, her lips curved into a gentle smile.

This time, the script would be rewritten, by the two of them together.

Without a doubt.