"Join Red Wings? What is Red Wings?" Yoshino looked at Nagi with some confusion. Of course, she knew what Red Wings represented, but she was a spirit who had been dormant for thirty years. Nagi's age must be around twenty years old now; it would be strange for a spirit who had been dormant longer than him to know these things, no matter how she thought about it.
"Uh~ how should I put it. Red Wings is a non-governmental organization formed by me, Nagi Springfield, Albireo Imma, Konoe Eishun, and my master Seguto. Our main purpose is to mediate disputes between countries and save the world. How about it? Tempted, right? As the leader of Red Wings, I, Nagi Springfield, personally invite you to join our Red Wings! This is an organization that saves the world; if you can successfully save the world, you might become a hero." After speaking, he broke into a big, brilliant smile.
"Save the world?" Yoshino murmured. Hearing Nagi's words, she thought of thirty years ago when she faced the satellite alone to save Tengu City. She did become a hero who saved Tengu City, but in the end, it was all just a conspiracy. She was attacked by DEM Industries, which forced her to teleport to this world and fall into a thirty-year slumber. Sometimes saving the world can indeed make one a hero, but more often, heroes sacrifice their lives for the sake of saving the world.
"Hmph! A bunch of guys wanting to invite our cute Yoshino to join your strange organization, what a joke. I wouldn't feel at ease letting Yoshino stay with a group of guys like you! And you, that bird's nest-headed idiot, just attacked us, and the next second you want to invite Yoshino to join you. You're really thick-skinned." While Yoshino was spacing out, Shiina spoke. It despised these kinds of guys with a protagonist's template the most; if Yoshino were to follow him, who knows how dangerous it would be.
"I told you, I'm not an idiot! You! Don't think I won't deal with you! You're not in that giant monster form anymore. If you keep talking to me like that, I'll tear you to shreds! This puppet should be your Main Body, right!" Nagi threatened, feeling that this guy's words were truly too much! Why would such a cute spirit have a guardian with such a terrible personality? The variance was simply too great!
"You can try, bird's nest-headed idiot. You should know that Shiina is very important to Yoshino. If you really dare to do anything to me, Yoshino won't let you off." Shiina wasn't afraid. It had heard such words too many times from Suzuya Yuriko, that lolicon. So what if he wanted to lay a hand on it? In these thirty years, it had found a way to prevent this from happening. "I'll just stand here. What can you do to me? If I move a step, I lose. If you don't come and touch me, you're useless."
"Eh? You, what are you going to do? No, you can't bully Shiina. I won't allow you to bully Shiina." Yoshino shielded Shiina in her arms, looking at Nagi with a nervous expression. At the same time, Konoe Eishun also appeared, shielding Yoshino behind him, looking at Nagi warily, just like a hero protecting the people, and Nagi was the rumored villain.
"You! You!" Feeling the Ice Spirit around him becoming active again, Nagi felt a lot of pressure. But that rabbit was just too punchable! He could clearly read 'I just love seeing you want to hit me but can't' on that rabbit's face. His irritable mood made the magic power in his body start to stir. If Al and Seguto hadn't been holding him back, he would have rushed up by now to show that rabbit his prowess!
"Alright, Nagi. Didn't you just say you wanted Yoshino to join our Red Wings? You don't look like you're inviting her right now. You have to understand that the other party is speaking to you with that tone because it doesn't trust you. Who told you to start fighting the moment you met? Isn't it normal for the other party to have such a bad attitude?" Al held Nagi's arms, smiling as he tried to calm the angry Nagi. He was already fantasizing about the scenes of Nagi and Shiina arguing after Yoshino joined Red Wings. How interesting those scenes would be.
"You're right, I was a bit too impulsive at first. But isn't your goal to travel this world? If you come with our Red Wings, you'll have someone to look out for you. We've been traveling in this Magical World for a long time; we can totally be your guides, can't we? Going with us to resolve disputes between countries can also protect the safety of more civilians, can't it? If you're a kind spirit, you'll definitely agree to join us, right?"
Nagi's reasoning could be said to be impeccable; a kind Yoshino would indeed choose to step forward in the face of civilian crises. But this was without Shiina. Thinking about how Yoshino's thirty-year slumber was due to protecting Tengu City made it feel extremely disdainful of the reason of 'protecting humanity'.
"What about humans? Do all humans deserve protection? Why do disputes and wars happen between countries? Isn't it all because they want to annex other countries? Why do the strong despise the weak? Isn't it because they believe in survival of the fittest, that only the strong can live well? And the weak can only submit to the strong and serve them well." Thinking of the various dark things encountered in the world of A Certain Magical Index and Date A Live, Shiina's view of humanity became increasingly negative. If Yoshino's original identity hadn't been human, its view of humanity would probably have become even worse.
"Even during the thirty years of slumber, many people who believed rumors came here wanting to defeat me and gain Yoshino's power. Those greedy humans completely disregarded the truth or falsehood of the information and came here to interrupt Yoshino's slumber. Do such humans truly deserve Yoshino's protection? Tell me, Nagi Springfield!" During these thirty years, many people had interrupted Shiina's slumber. At first, Shiina tried to communicate, but all attempts failed. Those people only had a desire for power in their hearts. Do these people truly deserve Yoshino's protection?
"Shiina..." Yoshino looked at it with some worry. Before her slumber, Shiina didn't have such a bad impression of humans. What happened in these thirty years?
"It's nothing, Yoshino. I'm fine. I just understood many things I didn't know before during this time. Now I hope you can give me a reason to agree to Yoshino joining your Red Wings. I think you should be able to give me a very good reason, shouldn't you, Mr. Nagi Springfield, leader of Red Wings?" After comforting Yoshino, it turned and asked Nagi. Having reconnected to Yoshino's memories, it had already obtained information about Nagi. It wanted to hear what reason this hero could use to persuade it.
"..." Nagi's expression froze when he heard Shiina's question. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment. He looked up at the other companions of Red Wings, all of whom smiled and nodded at him. Although this leader usually seemed unreliable, he was very reliable at critical moments. Although he usually liked to cause them trouble, being with him felt very happy. They believed that their leader could definitely bring this cute girl into their group.
"You're very right, humans are indeed very bad. For a little benefit, they will harm many people, but this is only a small portion of people. The vast majority of people are kind; they will feel sad because of others' misfortunes. The relatives of those people will sacrifice themselves in wars, but it is precisely because of this that we will stop disputes between countries and make this world free of any wars."
"Impossible, your idea is too naive. Where there are humans, there will definitely be war. In my opinion, if there is no bloodshed, lessons are quickly forgotten. Those who don't know pain won't know what peace is! Humans are such a cheap creature! If you don't hit them, they'll never know pain, and they'll never listen! Where can there be peace without blood?" Shiina roared. Although these were borrowed words, they were also the questions it wanted to ask and the words it wanted to say.
"But what about those who have lost loved ones? Should they have to lose their family? The outbreak of any war will cause many people to lose their families. Should these people all experience such pain? Even if your words are right, I will never admit it! War brings casualties, and those of us with capabilities should prevent these wars from happening. This is my understanding of power, and it is how I do things!"
"The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility? That's a really naive idea. This path will eventually make you lose many things. Even so, can you still persevere? Will you abandon your family, even your children, for your words, and let your children have a childhood without a father?" Just like in the original work, Negi never saw his father from a young age; this guy also hardened his heart to do so.
"...At that time, I can only apologize to them. I just don't know if they will forgive me." Although he is currently single, Nagi knows that he will definitely abandon his family to save the world, just as Shiina said. Even if he already had his own family at that time, he would still do it.
"Ah~ what a bother. Your personality reminds me of a hot-blooded anime protagonist. But it's also because of your personality that this trip will become more interesting." Shaking her head helplessly, they had been in this world for thirty years and still didn't understand what their mission was. If they could follow Nagi, who was the protagonist of the world, they should be able to figure out what their mission in this world truly was.
"So you've agreed?" Nagi said with some excitement. He was very happy that Red Wings could add new members.
"I can't make the decision, you have to ask Yoshino." Pointing to Yoshino, Shiina did not answer his question. Then why did you say so much just now? Everyone present couldn't help but complain in their hearts. However, their gazes still turned to Yoshino next to them.
"Eh? Although I really want to join, is it really okay? Yoshino is very clumsy and might cause you trouble," Yoshino said cautiously.
"It's okay, you can learn things you don't know slowly. We will teach you well until you learn, Yoshino," Konoe Eishun said gently to Yoshino. Now he had found that paternal feeling in Yoshino, even though he didn't know if she was older than him.
"Well~ I don't care," Al said leisurely from the side. With Yoshino joining Red Wings, he would be able to collect more of her life story.
Yoshino was a bit hesitant, but she didn't know how much longer she would stay in this world. Also, the magic system in this world was very complex, and there were many people here who were as strong as a BUG. She should be able to learn a lot from them. Thinking this, Yoshino nodded, agreeing to Nagi's invitation.
Nagi looked at the other people, who nodded in understanding. "Yoshino, welcome to Red Wings!"
Yoshino looked at everyone's sincere smiles, and a subtle warmth rose in her heart. The warmth grew larger and larger, finally converging into a faint smile on her face.
"Great, Yoshino finally smiled at me!" Nagi laughed happily, looking at Yoshino's smile.
"idiot, she's smiling at all of us, okay?" Konoe Eishun grumbled.
And so, Yoshino officially joined Red Wings. In this world, her heroic story had just begun.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!