Tsukino's beginning

In Ihrutia, she was a well-adored human because of her hard work and kindness. She worked alongside the fauns on the magic lavender field from morning until afternoon. It's all dangerous and tiring work; handling plants with mysterious power is a thing that Ihrutia farmers need to complete by hand. This realm doesn't have enough advanced technology to safely take care of them, so they're still doing these difficult farmworks manually. Tsukino charges nothing for this; she got enough money from her job as a mercenary. But she only stays on the field for one reason.

She has been through some rough mental breakdowns recently, so her squad members gathered to help. They tried their best to build a camp and have fun together, but it turned out to be a complete mess. More terrible, Tsukino got another panic attack in the middle of the chaos. After all, the girls solved every problem and laughed happily. They told Tsukino to find them whenever she didn't feel good. Anyone is ready and pleased to help. But all of them are from different realms; it's hard for them to move back and forth just to worry about her. So, to prevent the panic attacks from returning, she left no time for herself to live again in the past, recreating terrific scenes over and over. She keeps herself busy, and this is also a way to impress local people that Tsukino is a good person. She says anything to convince the squad members to return home and mind their problems, but deep inside she knows she misses them so much.

Humans are a species that tends to live in herds. She can't resist the power of their emotional bond and how she was affected by it. She knows that any one of them has just one wish: to stay together, but now they're on a more important mission: to cover the Utopia creator. Because of that, the squad members need to stay separated. All of them have a tragic, long story to tell, but they overcome it all and have a stable mentality, ready to feel the new life. She, their leader, is the one who stands out.

Doing farmwork reduces her stress. Tsukino spends her day forming magical processes for different types of plants. She originally doesn't have magic power, and neither do the Northern Side fauns. But Tokuko granted her some from Candoris, the place she has been staying. Maybe that girl was the one who did the best at getting along with the new world and life conditions. She has enough money to buy a magic energy storage device and gave Tsukino one to use in need. She doesn't know if it charges or when it will run out of energy, but that device seems to absorb magic from the plants instead. That's somehow better, because some fruits have drastic effects from their extra magic power. The fauns do question its origin at first, and they give humans a weird look when they hear about "realm traveling." People here are quite shy; they don't explore much and are satisfied with their lives while respecting nature. That's why they fall behind the humans, who just set foot on this world for a few months, when it comes to magic or technology.

The fauns showed no interest in it, except whether it has effects that harm nature or not. Tsukino used the device because it speeds up the work and reduces risks. But she won't bother convincing the fauns to try it out; they have their own way. Finishing her part early, she walks around for the next few minutes to check on and help some people before saying goodbye. The sun is going down, and Tsukino stopped for a while to watch the sunset sky. Without skyscrapers and houses, the sky looks more wide than ever, like a borderless, beautiful drawing. The cool breezes bring the scent of newly cut grass; it's like someone who just managed to clean their garden. She took a deep breath, then exhaled, then inhaled. In that moment, she feels like every type of depression can be cured by this relaxing feeling. So that's why her assistant girls keep saying going outside is the solution for her mental instability.

As the last lights of the day disappeared, she said goodbye to the fauns and headed home. Her house is a cozy wooden cabin, staying deep inside the dark forest. Tsukino built it there on the purpose of not being too close to humans, or she may unintentionally harm them when she's out of control. It's getting dark here real quick, but she's not rushing. The thick darkness of the woods has soon become her friend; she can wander alongside it; there is no need for sunlight to feel safe. But today, something is off. Tsukino got off the path she usually uses and strayed to a strange rock cave she hadn't seen before. And in there, countless numbers of small fireballs are falling down like rain. She hides behind a big, solid rock to see what's happening. At first, she thought that was local tribals or a campfire accident, which would require instant actions to prevent forest fires. That's when she felt a strange aura curl around these flames. They're not normal; they're from an artifact power user. That person is fighting someone who can control winds. Both of them are artifact users, but she can easily tell they're not at the rank of powerful people. Tsukino can intervene and stop them if she wants, but she doesn't feel like it should end here. Making sure the outside is safe, she gets out of her hiding space to take a peek and...

There's no human there. There are no animals or any type of known bipedal species in this new world. They look like... critters? Tsukino didn't believe in her eyes. Small critters that fight with artifact powers? What kind of crazy thing can happen here? She saw a bunch of flying pelicans trying to attack a rock cave, where they encountered a fight with solid-looking short golems trying to protect their territory. Among the normal earthy ones lying all over the ground, there's a golem that emits fire. It's still standing; fight with your best. It must be the source of that fire. The other golems look rather broken or dead; what a tragic scene for them. She decides not to cause any affection and takes a look deeper into the dark cave. Inside, there were lots of little statues with carved mouths and lines resembling closed eyes. She hasn't seen them before, and in case these artifact powers are inheritable, she'll wait here until the battle ends and try to absorb them.

Twenty minutes have passed, and the fight is still ongoing. But before Tsukino could lose her patience and intervene to change the battle result, it had already ended. The golem that tries its best to protect its children has won. It lies on the ground, unmoved, and the light from its body flames slowly fade away. It looks dying; this is her best chance to come, rip it apart, and try to steal its artifact power. But instead of doing that, she just gets out of her hiding spot and picks up the golem. It struggles, but she uses gentle caress to calm it down. Under the moonlight, she looks into the cave and clearly sees three more little statues, or eggs. Tsukino uses rocks to hide the eggs from the predators who would want them.

- You fought as a great warrior. I'll take care of you.

The golem only tries to move its weary joints before completely giving up. It got exhausted so badly from the battle and is in a vulnerable state to be killed at any moment. She looks at its indifferent face, then wraps the companion up in her coat and brings it home.