“Goodbye! I’ll be back next time.”

“Sure thing, miss. Be careful on your way back.”

I stepped out of the hardware store with a polite farewell.
It took me forever to find this place. After wandering around asking people for directions, I finally stumbled upon it. Turns out, the hardware store was right near the academy the whole time, and I’d just been circling the same spot like an idiot. I wasn’t usually bad with directions—was this Lucia’s influence? Whatever. I found it in the end, so who cares?

The shop owner was a friendly older man.
He seemed a bit puzzled at first when I asked for things like ropes and other supplies.
I mean, it’s not exactly the kind of stuff a high school girl like Lucia would normally shop for.

But when I told him it was for psychic ability training, he handed everything over without question.
Since I was wearing the academy uniform, I guess he just believed me right away.

I wasn’t lying.
I’m an honest, well-behaved student who doesn’t know how to lie.
Everything was for training—really.

I packed my purchases into the shopping bags I’d brought along.
Both hands were full, so I had no choice but to drop them off at the dorm before continuing my walk around town.
Today’s plan was to take it easy and explore the area, but lugging all this stuff around would be too much of a hassle.

I neatly stacked the shopping bags in the corner of my room before heading out again.
The first task was done. Now where should I go next?

Even though I wasted time finding the hardware store, it was still pretty early.
There was no rush, so I strolled leisurely, taking in the sights.

This might be a fantasy world, but the scenery wasn’t all that different.
Tall buildings stretching into the sky.
Cars speeding down paved roads.
Traffic lights blinking red and green.
Telephone poles and wires crisscrossing like spiderwebs.
Signs advertising stores.
Stray cats hiding beneath parked cars.

Aside from psychic abilities and monsters from the Beyond, it was a world that could easily pass for Earth’s modern era.
If I kept walking down this asphalt road, I might even forget I’d become Lucia.

But it wasn’t the same. Not really.
Sure, human civilizations tend to evolve along similar paths, but the starting conditions here were completely different.
From history to religion, culture, and society—everything had subtle yet significant differences.

I’d have to get used to it.
At least as long as I had to live as Lucia.

Over the past few days, a thought kept crossing my mind.
Since I suddenly became Lucia out of nowhere, maybe one day I’d go back to my original world just as abruptly.

I had no idea why I became Lucia.
I woke up one day as a character in a novel.
I honestly didn’t get it at all.

A novel? Isn’t this supposed to be fiction?
Then why did I end up as Lucia, the heroine?
If anyone had the answers, I’d bow down and beg them to explain it to me.

In fact, I seriously doubted whether this was all just a dream and I was actually sleeping soundly in my bed back home.

I wiggled my left pinky finger.
It moved. Smoothly.

This isn’t a dream.
I don’t know about anything else, but I’m sure of that much.

I touched my shoulder.
This isn’t an illusion. The pain I felt back then made that clear.

I brushed my neck.
If this were just a dream or hallucination, it wouldn’t have been that agonizing.

“Ugh… I don’t know…”

No amount of agonizing over it now was going to give me any answers.
I had no clues to work with, so all I’d get from dwelling on it was frustration.

Right now, all I can do is keep living as Lucia.
And so I will.

Lucia.
I am Lucia.

A peculiar girl with an odd habit of going “Uhe~” and seeming ordinary at first glance.
Well, maybe not so ordinary.
Even in a world where appearances are generally above average, Lucia stands out as exceptionally beautiful.
And she’s got a… unique personality.

Growl.

My stomach let out a loud rumble.
How embarrassing.

Oh, right—I skipped breakfast.
Something I realized over the past few days is that Rapid Regeneration burns through calories like crazy.

Actually, psychic abilities in general take a toll on stamina.
If I don’t eat regularly, I’ll end up feeling drained.

I don’t hate the gnawing pain of an empty stomach or anything,
but I still have to eat to stay alive.

Let’s see… Where am I now?
Ah, just a little further, and I’ll reach the busy part of town.

They say even sightseeing comes after food.
Let’s grab something to eat first.

◈

“Welcome~.”

The girl greeted me with a sleepy voice, as if she’d just woken up.
Her silver ponytail swayed side to side every time she stumbled, looking like she might collapse any second.
She bowed slightly, half-lidded eyes barely focused on me.
I couldn’t help but gape at her with a dumbfounded “He~.”

Maybe it was because it was the weekend, but the shopping district was packed with people.
Carefully weaving through the crowd, I’d been wondering where to grab a bite when I spotted a noodle shop.

It wasn’t even lunchtime yet, but the place was bustling.
I could tell right away—this had to be a good restaurant.

Trusting my gut, I stepped inside without hesitation—and was immediately greeted by a peculiar sight.

A silver-haired girl in an apron was taking orders.
Not unusual.

A silver-haired girl in an apron was serving food.
Still normal.

A silver-haired girl in an apron was clearing dishes from an empty table.
Nothing strange there either.

A silver-haired girl in an apron was ringing up customers at the counter.
Again, nothing too odd about that.

A silver-haired girl in an apron. Another one. And another.

A total of seven silver-haired girls in aprons were bustling around the shop.
Wait—correction. Four were working hard, while three lounged lazily in the corner.

Nothing weird, right?
Well, if they hadn’t all looked exactly the same.

Same hair, same clothes, same face, same voice, same build.
Everything about them was identical—like reflections in a mirror.

Seven identical girls.
Septuplets?

No. Not septuplets.
They were all the same person.

“Hmm?”

The silver-haired girl who greeted me tilted her head, arms crossed, staring at me with her half-open eyes.

Right. Left. Right. Left.
She tilted her head back and forth like a pendulum before clapping her hands.

“I don’t know. Who are you?”

“…You don’t remember me?”

“Dunno. Feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

Wow. That stings. I’m hurt.
I’m going to cry now.
We’re classmates, you know.

“Hmm? Oh… ah! Golem. Bitten shoulder. Blood everywhere.”

One of the silver-haired girls working at the counter spoke up.
The girl in front of me finally seemed to recall something.

“Oh, right. Welcome, blood girl. There’s an empty seat over there. Try not to bleed everywhere this time.”

“I’m fine now, Anastasia. The wound’s already healed.”

“Really? Already? Weird.”

I followed her directions and sat down, glancing at the girls as I opened the menu.

What a coincidence.
I just walked into a random restaurant, and here I was, running into a classmate.

Anastasia.
One of the heroines in Dawn’s Blade.
A member of the Golden Generation, like Eugene, Leo, Arin, and Aris.

Her psychic ability was Duplication.
Every single one of these silver-haired girls in the shop was Anastasia—her clones.

Which one was the original?
Maybe the one dozing off in the corner.
Or the two playing cat’s cradle.
It had to be one of them.

“Hey, blood girl.”

I raised my hand to order, and one of the working Anastasia clones approached.
Her half-lidded, sleepy eyes stared blankly at me.

“My name’s Lucia.”

“Yeah, so what’s your order?”

“One udon, please.”

“Got it. Slurp.”

Should I bother correcting her?
No point, right? Anastasia’s the type to just let words fly in one ear and out the other.
She’s the definition of someone who marches to her own beat.

Leaning back, I looked around the shop again.
Judging by the number of customers, my guess was right—this place was popular.

Anastasia handled everything, from seating to cleaning up.
Guiding customers, taking orders, serving food, clearing tables—it was too much work for one person.

But Anastasia wasn’t just one person.
There were seven of her here, and if she wanted, she could easily double that number.

“Here you go, blood girl.”

“Thanks.”

My order didn’t take long to arrive.
Wow, smells great.
I’ll just ignore the fact that she changed my nickname again.

“Hey, Anastasia.”

“Hmm?”

I stopped her before she could walk away.
She tilted her head, looking puzzled.

“Why are those three over there just goofing off? Aren’t they supposed to be working too?”

“Huh? Oh. Good question.”

Her hazy eyes sparkled for a moment as she clapped her hands.

With a soft pop, another Anastasia clone appeared beside her.

“Work.”

“No.”

“Okay.”

The new clone marched over to the others, hugged one of the dozing clones like a doll, and joined them in taking a nap.

“They don’t wanna work.”

“…I see.”

“Yup. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Anastasia turned away without hesitation.
Resting my chin on my hand, I watched her go.

Anastasia’s clones are influenced by her emotions, right?
Given what just happened, it seems like her true feelings affect the clones’ behavior.

The ones working probably reflect a sense of duty—like “I don’t want to, but I have to.”

Wait.
Anastasia just made a clone.
Doesn’t that mean she’s the original?

So the real Anastasia’s working while her clones slack off?
What is this—class warfare?

Growl.

Ah, my stomach’s still complaining.
Enough thinking. Time to eat before it gets cold.

I twirled the steaming udon around my chopsticks and slurped it down.

Mmm…
Delicious.

Now I get why this place is so crowded.

9.5 out of 10.
Docked 0.5 points purely because I wish it were hotter—hot enough to burn my mouth.

Yeah, that’s way too personal.

Let’s just make it 10.