Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
She had already accepted that her life would expire in a year. Myne had done everything in her power. She’d made money, paper and books, and for the past three years of her second life she had done her best to be a filial child. Yet, despite all of her efforts, she was still making her parents sad. No matter how hard she tried, she still caught her father crying at night.
Benno and Lutz did their best too, but there was only so much a mere merchant and his apprentice could do. Still, it made it just a little bit easier, knowing the people and things she’s grown to care so much for would still be taken care of once she was gone.
When she felt her life was reaching the end, Benno told her family to move out far away from the city. He told them all about the death due to devouring - that it wouldn’t be pretty, especially for someone with as much mana as Myne. When his fiancee, Lize, was at last consumed entirely by her mild devouring, part of her house was blown away.
They couldn’t even imagine what would become of Myne.
Her family refused to let her die alone but she begged them to reconsider. As much as she didn’t want to be alone, didn’t want another death isolated from the ones she loved, it was more unacceptable to harm them when she died.
It was Lutz who convinced them in the end, “Please don’t make it even harder for Myne!”
So they found a cabin for her - an old, worn down one usually used by hunters - and Myne spent the last of her days in the sprawling forests beyond the city and surrounded by the few books she managed to write by herself. It was a shame she would never see the letter type she asked Johann to make or the new colored ink Heidi and her husband were working on.
Her family came by as much as they could. It was a long walk from the city, but someone still came a few times a week to bring her food and spend time with her. Dad would tell her stories from the gate, and Tuuli told her all about her apprenticeship. Myne wrote them all down to read again later. When Mom came, she asked her to tell her again- those stories she told Myne before bed once. It turned out that Effa knew a lot of stories. Myne suspected her time would run out before the stories did.
Even Lutz came a few times. She was relieved to hear the printing industry was progressing even without her, but it was a little depressing too. He seemed to realize that, so whenever Lutz came, he hugged her and let her cry. She had to be strong for Mom and Dad and Tuuli, so it was a relief, just once or twice, to cry.
She told Lutz to distribute the majority of her wealth to her family. Part of it would go as investment to keep her exclusives afloat towards printing, and she left him a small emergency fund as well.
As she felt her life reaching the end, she said goodbye- alone but not lonely.
“God… goddess…” She saw them once in the temple and heard about their myth. “This second life was short but not so bad…” She uttered in prayer, opening the page in her book depicting the goddess of wisdom.
Freida, in a last ditch effort to get her to sign her life over to a noble for survival, introduced her to the goddess of wisdom, whose sacred tool was a book. Freida might never be the best of friends, and she was even very deceitful, but her heart was never malicious. After all, she’d given her her first book, hadn’t she? Their last meeting was full of tears.
“Kuh-” Her body was burning and Myne took the book with her as she lay down on her bed, her skin bubbling dangerously.
“Mestionora… Your Holiness Mestionora-” She had been a good disciple of wisdom. She made paper… and the printing machine was already in progress… If there was such a thing as a miracle, she wished to be reborn as Gunther and Effa’s child again. She would be a good librarian up in her heavenly library. She would do anything… so please-
“Is that your wish? My disciple whose thread is so short… Even Ventuhicht mourns for your beautiful color...”
Who? Was this…
“Such sincere prayer… I have not received it since the last devoted servants of mine reached the towering height… The book of your life is so colorful yet so short.”
Oh- that myth. When they died, it was said the memories of their life would turn into a book and find a home on the shelves of Mestionora’s library. She understood Mestionora’s feeling when a good book was too short.
“Fufu fu… you are very compatible with me. We even look similar…”
Freida said it too, Mestionora had midnight hair and moon-like eyes blessed by the Supreme Couple.
“This miniature garden is perishing due to mortal’s ignorance and at this rate… everything will return to sand.”
What?!! That was bad, her family was still alive! If this country turned to sand...
“It seems our purposes are aligned… so my dear Myne, I shall grant you a new life as my messenger. Find the missing Zent candidate and save this country and Aivermeen!”
Days later Myne’s family would return to the cabin only to find it intact. There was no trace of Myne, and on the unmade bed a book was left open with the symbol of Mestionora shining. That night was the night of Schutzaria, the time when the kin of wind was at their strongest.