Mira, you're a genius second only to a cheat user

The withdrawn girl was stunned by Hughes's words. Her blue eyes widened in surprise as she stared at him.

At that moment, it wasn't Hughes's flames on Mira's mind, but the fact that she had finally found someone who had been through the same thing as her.

Little flames danced on Hughes's fingertips. "In this world, people call this power magic, and those who wield it are called mages."

Hughes smiled at her as the flames shifted in his palm, sometimes forming a fire pistol, sometimes gathering into a fireball.

"There's a kind of magic in the magic world called Take Over Magic. Mages who learn it can take animals, beasts, demons, or even gods into their bodies to gain their corresponding abilities."

"And you, Mira, are a rare magical genius. Without any training, you awakened magic on your own and even managed to take over a demon.

"If the people in the magic world heard about what you did, the big shots would come to your door in person and beg you to join their guilds."

The withdrawn girl lowered her eyes to the demon arm beneath her cloak. Hughes's explanation left her thoroughly confused.

"But everyone in the village said a demon was living inside me. First my arm would turn into a demon's, then my torso, until it finally devoured me completely.

Hughes met her bewildered gaze. "Did you know that besides the two demons in your church, there were also people from a dark magic cult? There were more than a dozen dissected corpses in the underground stone chamber, too.

"Do you think that would have been possible without people in your village secretly helping them? Can you trust what they say?"

Mira was no fool, having raised her younger brother and sister on her own from a young age. She cautiously held out her arm.

"I didn't believe them at first either, because I wasn't the one who made those people in the village disappear for no reason. I had nothing to do with it. But it seems to be alive. I can sense it calling to me."

The corpses in the church's underground stone chamber, their hearts and lungs carved out, surfaced in Hughes's mind once again. So they were people from Mira's village!

Those bastards were ruthless. They didn't even spare their own.

Hughes pushed himself up from the grass with both hands and picked up the bowl of porridge. After a pause, he took a few sips.

Seeing that Mira was still worried, Hughes sighed and chuckled helplessly. He'd had the good fortune to witness a genius's troubles firsthand.

"Mira, have you considered the possibility that your magical aptitude is just too strong?

"Only when mages who can use Take Over Magic hear that call can they achieve its ultimate form... Full Body Take Over!

"After the Forest Vulcan took control of you, it was able to turn your whole body into a demon's with ease. That shows the demon you absorbed in the church had already acknowledged you.

"Magic is the power of the heart, and you've been resisting it all along. That's why your arm has remained in its demon form."

With that, Hughes poured the porridge in the bowl into his mouth. He'd just tried it, and the temperature was perfect.

The porridge slid smoothly across his tongue and down into his stomach. Hughes licked the remnants from his lips, his eyes brightening.

The aroma had told him the porridge would taste good, but it exceeded his expectations once he put it in his mouth.

"Elfman, is there any left in the pot? Another bowl, please!"

"There's more, Hughes. Mira told me to make a whole lot extra."

Mira stared blankly at her demon arm, which looked like dead wood.

Hughes tilted his head and blinked at her. Then he pinched the claw at the end of her demon arm and lifted it slightly, exposing the whole arm to the air.

"From the moment you took it over, it stopped being a demon and became your power. Try to communicate with it, and accept it.

"Once we join the Fairy Tail guild, we can ask Master Makarov to teach you how to use Take Over Magic. Then your arm can return to normal."

The withdrawn girl looked up as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated. Hughes could see many things in her blue eyes.

Hughes lifted his hand from her demon claw and placed it on her head. He gently turned it, directing her gaze toward her introverted younger brother and talkative younger sister.

"Don't make things harder on yourself, withdrawn girl!"

In front of the campfire, Hughes licked the last of the porridge from the pot and let out a deeply satisfied belch.

Come to think of it, this was his first real meal since he had transmigrated.

Balrog the Flame Demon didn't count!

Elfman and Lisanna, both full, sat behind him, glancing over and hesitating to speak. They had heard what Hughes and Mira had talked about earlier, too.

"Hughes, can Elfman and I become mages too?" Lisanna couldn't hold back any longer and asked nervously.

Hughes had been about to tease them, but when he turned around, he was met with two pairs of hopeful eyes...

"Oh, you two! Yes, you have the aptitude to become mages!"

Unable to bring himself to hurt them, Hughes answered honestly. Judging by how things went in the original story, their magical aptitude wasn't as outrageous as Mira's, but it was still far above that of others.

Elfman in particular would have been a shoo-in for S-Class Mage in any other mage guild.

Their hopes had come true, and the siblings' excitement showed plainly on their faces. They ran over to Mira and chattered around her.

Mira was clearly happy for them, too, and the three whispered among themselves for a long time.

Hughes didn't hurry them. He hadn't fully recovered yet, so he was in no rush to get back on the road.

Hughes was enjoying the relaxed atmosphere here and planned to stay the night. After all, Magnolia was right where it was and wasn't going anywhere. They could resume their journey tomorrow.

The moon climbed higher, and a freshly lit campfire crackled, sending sparks flying.

Elfman, who was keeping watch, sat in front of the fire, looking nervous and glancing around from time to time.

Mira and Lisanna rested beneath a tree, while Hughes slept soundly on its trunk, his body twitching every so often.

In his sleep, the fragments of memory that had appeared along with the system began playing automatically in his mind...

"Starting today, we're the three ASL brothers!"

ASL? In love with jerking off?

Hughes's interest immediately picked up. Was a randomly chosen memory fragment really this explosive?

He had to see what it was about!

A moment later, Hughes opened his eyes in a rage. Damn it, that was clickbait! The content was completely at odds with the facts!

Ace was actually wearing a Marine uniform!

Then he was shot dead by Luffy, the Celestial Dragon king, who had a transparent fishbowl on his head...

Was that how the story of Pirate King went? He was a veteran fan! How come he'd never heard of that part?

Next one, next one. Angry, Hughes swept the memory out of his mind like garbage, just as he had before, lest it contaminate him. Then he picked another fragment at random...

He refused to believe all the memories stuffed into his head were parodies!

"Do you want to dance too?"

That single line was enough to draw a smile from Hughes. Weren't those the words of his favorite character, Lord Madara?

He knew all about the legend of the eyes and the five villages' brawls. The director had shown it to him before!

"So this is the power of your love?"

"No, this is the power of light!"

Dressed in maid outfits, "Naruto" and "Sasuke" held hands and gazed lovingly at each other as they stepped on Lord Madara and answered in unison.

"Sasuke, you'll regret this!"

"I don't believe you!"

Years later, Lord Madara changed sex and became the third party in "Sasuke" and "Naruto's" marriage. Heartbroken, "Sasuke" resumed his identity as an alien and returned to his own world in a spaceship.

Hughes's heart, which had been clenched with tension, finally died. He opened his eyes and slowly let out a breath.

That settled it. He could be sure the memory fragments in his head were all parodies.

Parodies were one thing, but why did perfectly good action anime always have to end with something to do with love?

They were all men! Use your asses for taking a dump, damn it!

Hughes couldn't sleep...