“Piyoppup. Piyoppup……”

Singing in a quiet voice, Tia waddled up the stairs.

(If I walked around as I pleased, I would probably get lost.)

It was rare for Tia to get lost while outdoors. By the height of the sun, the direction of the wind, and the feeling on her skin, she could usually get a general idea of where she was and the direction she was facing.
However, she was not used to walking around human buildings.
On top of that, because the Wedge Tower had been constantly rebuilt and expanded, it had an incredibly complex layout. It seemed that even humans got lost from time to time.
Eventually, after climbing to the top of the staircase, Tia found a place that looked like a balcony and stepped outside.
Since Tia’s eyes worked well at night, as long as there was nothing in the way, she could see perfectly fine even without a lantern.

“Being high up feels so goood~”

The first time she’d seen it, it had the impression of a fortress looming out of the fog, and now that she’d actually entered it, that impression hadn’t changed. The building had a impressive, stern appearance. Nothing like the shining castles she’d seen in picture books, nor like ordinary homes.
The term ‘Wedge Tower’ apparently originally referred only to the pointy tower in the center.
East and West Halls spread out from there. Those who passed the entrance exam had been divided with the boys staying in the East Hall and the girls in the West Hall. The mages of the Wedge Tower usually slept in those halls as well.
Tia slipped out from her bed and went on a nighttime walk.
Leaning on the balcony’s railing, Tia lost herself in thought.

(I wonder if Wren and Sevil’s injuries have gotten better.)

Even after Hegelich made them listen to his speech about the existence of Monsters and the role of the Wedge Tower, no one had rescinded their acceptance. Not Wren or Sevil, nor Tia.
The duty of the Wedge Tower—She was surprised to hear that they were watching out for Monsters, but she didn’t feel like her true identity had been found out by the humans, and the fact remained that the Wedge Tower was the only place she could learn flight magic.
It wasn’t an issue of tuition costs or proving her identity either.
West of the Wedge Tower, there was an invisible wall that sealed away only Monsters. Even when taking human form, Tia could only move around inside that wall.
Inside the wall—That meant only about half of the Ihrsen Autonomous Territory of the Empire.
There were plenty of human settlements inside the wall, but there were no other magic academies. That’s why the Wedge Tower was the only place for her to learn magecraft.

“Pirorororo……”

Tia climbed up onto the balcony’s railing, and looked around.
It was late at night, about to tick over into the next day, but lanterns were still lit all around the Wedge Tower, and she could see the silhouettes of watchmen here and there.
The Wedge Tower had been built with the intention of observing Monsters, so it was only natural.
There was a mountain range on the far eastern edge of the Ihrsen Autonomous Territory, at the far eastern edge of the Empire, and beyond it was the sea. Just before that far eastern edge was the Crystal Territory, where Monsters lived.
The Wedge Tower was like a defensive line meant to keep the Monsters from invading farther westward.
The stronger a Monster, the denser the mana had to be for it to survive, and if it left the Crystal Territory, it would waste away and die in no time. Even if it were to go looking for another place with high mana density, it wouldn’t be able to go far, blocked by the invisible wall.
Harpies were weak among Monsters, and while Tia was in human form, she was even more restrained. That was why, without the power of the candies, she wouldn’t be able to use her true strength.
That meant she probably wouldn’t waste to death any time soon.

(I’ll definitely learn flight magic, and take to the skies…..then I’ll return to Breakneck Gorge.)

The gorge where the dry winds blew like a high-pitched scream.
The colorful Harpies that flew back and forth in that place.
Especially her sister, whose beautiful orange and red wings looked like a blooming flower of flame when she spread them wide.
When someone started singing, the other Harpies would start singing as well. Their singing voices would overlap, amplify, and resound. Those times were the happiest of all.
When she flew to a nearby forest on a whim, she occasionally saw Monsters that weren’t very strong.
As mana disappeared from the world, Monsters that had nowhere to go made their way to the Crystal Territory and made residence there. Among the Monsters living in the Crystal Territory, there were some types that were said to hail from distant foreign countries.
Among them, there were Monsters where the name of their race had been forgotten over the years.
Tia didn’t know the name of that winged snake’s race, so it might be from a race that has since been forgotten.

(I hope my sister and the others are doing okay…..)

Remembering her sister’s singing voice, her heart ached.
Tia looked up at the sky. The waning moon cast a soft white light into the cloudless night sky.
Flying and singing. Those were the greatest joys to a Harpy.
So, a Harpy who could no longer fly would seek what joy she could by singing.
So that others wouldn’t notice, she kept her voice down and sung secretly.

—Because the moon is beautiful tonight
—Sleep with a calm heart
—Because the moonlight is a blessing for the future

—Because the moon is invisible tonight
—Sleep with a quiet heart
—It now casts a blind eye to your guilt

—Because the moon is crying tonight
—Sleep soundly now
—The tears shed for your sake will water the earth

—Then once more, morning will come
—Then once more, tomorrow will come

The moon above her was crossed by a black shadow. The shadow of a person carrying a long, thin object. It didn’t have wings, so it wasn’t a Harpy. It was a flying human.

(That’s flight magic! The one I want to learn!)

The human was flying with surprising grace. Without wings, how could they balance themselves so well?
As Tia stared at them, the person stopped in midair and softly floated down in front of Tia.
It was a tall, lanky young man. He looked to be somewhere in his early twenties. He had a face that looked accustomed to smiling gracefully.
He had short, straight hair, and even though she couldn’t tell the color well at night, it was lightly-colored.

“Good evening. That was a lovely song. Was it a lullaby?”

“Probably. It was a goodnight song.”

While responding, Tia observed the man.
He wore a jacket instead of a robe, but he had tied the sash of a Wedge Tower mage around the sleeve of his jacket.
He held various bags in his hands. “Ah!” Among them, Tia saw some she recognized, and raised a voice.

“Sevil’s sword!”

“You know the owner?”

In the man’s arms was Sevil’s curved sword that had been knocked away by the black Werewolf and dropped to the bottom of the cliff. Not just the curved sword, Wren and Sevil’s bags were also there.
All of them were things that Tia had left behind.
The man looked down at her with both hands full.

“I picked them up while I was looking around. I’ll deliver them to the General Affairs Office, so you can pick them up tomorrow.”

“Thank you! Mr. Smiley!”

Tia offered her thanks, and the man laughed. His shoulders shook as he covered his mouth with his hand.

“It’s Frederik. Are you perhaps one of the ones who passed this year’s exam?”

“Yes! Tia. I’m Tia! Can you use flight magic, Mr. Smiley Frederik?”

“Yep. It’s my specialty.”

“Wow! Wow, wow! How do you do it? I wanna know, teach me!”

Tia unconsciously leaned forward in excitement.
After all, his flight magic was exactly what she had imagined.
The man—Frederik—lowered his brows, looking concerned.

“Hmm…..I’m not part of the Guidance Office, and I’m not really good at teaching…..how about I give you a little ride through the night sky? You can ride on my back and we’ll fly around a bit?”

“Can I? I wanna fly! I wanna fly!”

Tia nodded with rapid breaths, while Frederik set the bags on the floor and crouched down in front of her.

“Then, by all means.”

Tia clamped on to Frederik’s back, and while carrying her, he began an incantation.
Magecraft incantations were like songs. Memorizing songs was Tia’s specialty, so she made sure to carve that incantation into her mind.
Wind enveloped both of their bodies. Frederik kicked against the ground with a dull thud, and his body lifted into the air. His movements were extremely natural, just like when Harpies took off.

“Woooooooww, awesome, awesome, awesome! Wow, the sky! The night sky! The night wind!”

It had been fun when she was holding on to the winged snake, but this was much more exciting.
Holding on to a rampaging creature and a skilled flight magic user were two very different things.
She wondered how long it had been since the day her flight feathers were clipped and she became unable to fly.
Since becoming unable to fly, Tia had become sick worried that she might forget what it felt like to soar through the sky.
But this man’s flight magic brought those memories back.
Tia was so, so, happy, she chirped in glee.

“Thank you, Mr. Smiley Frederik! You know, I’m super happy. What should I give you as thanks? I can sing if you want. I can sing really good!”

“Then will you let me hear that song from earlier once more? If you do, I might be able to sleep well tonight.”

“Okay!”

Tia looked up at the moon, slightly closer now, and sang.
The lullaby of a gentle moon.

—Because the moon is beautiful tonight
—Sleep with a calm heart
—Because the moonlight is a blessing for the future

—Because the moon is invisible tonight
—Sleep with a quiet heart
—It now casts a blind eye to your guilt

—Because the moon is crying tonight
—Sleep soundly now
—The tears shed for your sake will water the earth

—Then once more, morning will come
—Then once more, tomorrow will come

Singing while flying was something else. It was the joy of a Harpy that she had forgotten.
As Tia sang to her heart’s content with flushed cheeks, Frederik whispered quietly.

“That’s an excellent song. I especially like the last part.”

“The part that goes ‘Then once more, tomorrow will come’?”

“Yep. ‘Tomorrow will come’ is a very happy message.”

Frederik circled the Wedge Tower once more time, then slowly descended.
Landing with a dull thud, he let Tia off of his back, then picked the bags off of the floor once more.

“It’s almost midnight…… ‘Tomorrow will come’ soon.”

“Then, go do a good night, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Hearing Tia say that, Frederik laughed peacefully.

“Yep, you’re right. Good night.”

“Good night!”

Flapping his hand while carrying the bags, Frederik chanted the incantation for flight magic.
His body floated off the ground, and once more flew away.
Until his form completely disappeared from view, Tia watched him, happily chirping “Piyo, piyo!”
On her very first day in the Tower, she’d experienced the very flight magic she was aiming for.

“I’m happy! I’m happy! Flight magic, I’m so glad!”

Changing the lyrics to a preexisting melody and singing, Tia left the balcony behind.
Just before she closed the door to the balcony, the night wind blew in and caressed her cheek, and she felt like it was telling her to try her best.

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