Lunadea
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Bookbound Bunny: Chapter 58
🕑 Added 2025-03-15 06:15:00 +0000 UTCChapter 58 - Trouble
Oz hurried to Lily's side. The bunny girl, with her shortness of breath and a rather scuffed-up appearance, was a troublesome sight to behold. It had been a while since he last saw her, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was the same girl he'd met back then. She had been tiny, almost malnourished, but now she merely looked small and petite.
He quickly reviewed what he could, and from what he could tell, she had suffered no significant injuries except for some bruising on one arm. Her clothes would need repair or replacement, but it seemed like she'd gotten out of it pretty well overall.
"Gods, what happened here? Margit is going to have my head…" Oz muttered, looking at the rest of the scene now that he'd confirmed the girl wasn't in dire need of medical attention.
Scorch marks were apparent, and glittery dust seemed to have coated a large portion of the area.
"Tim attacked us!" One of the boys immediately shouted and pointed towards the unconscious Leonia.
"That's what Charlie told me and why I rushed over…" Oz replied with a frown. "But now the perpetrator is unconscious?"
"Lily beat him up!" the boys exclaimed, their voices filled with awe at Lily's unexpected display of courage.
What? How? Oz thought as he glanced at the girl.
"It was amazing! She shot fire at him!" one of the boys continued, his voice filled with admiration.
Fire!?
"But Tim was too tough! Fire was not enough to stop him, but then he exploded into stars!"
Oz stared at the kids like they were delusional, but the evidence seemed to indicate otherwise. Rather than question Lily, he inspected Tim. The boy looked tough as nails, but he still checked that he didn't need emergency attention.
"Looks like he's just unconscious…" Oz sighed with relief.
"Damn…" One of the boys muttered.
Oz shook his head and ignored that remark. The kids were undoubtedly still distraught at whatever the Leonia had done.
Burn marks were apparent on his clothes, not to mention a thorough coating of that strange dust. It certainly looked like he'd been fighting someone with fire; magical or otherwise.
If the Dragia girl was here, I'd blame her. But I heard she had left for that fancy pants magic school… Did she somehow give the girl some of her flames or something? It sounds preposterous, but who knows what people can do with magic!
Oz sighed and turned to the victim-turned-hero.
"So, Lily, do you mind explaining what happened?" Oz asked.
Lily nodded meekly and began recounting the events. She was articulate and to the point. The boys wanted to hunt some gremlins when Tim appeared. He claimed that all the gremlins were his property and that he'd been exterminating them.
I wish people would stop telling youngsters that monsters help you grow in strength. I swear the rush of power after their first kill goes straight to their egos… But I guess everyone wants to be an adventurer.
Then Tim grabbed her and tried to drag her into the forest. Apparently, they had some history, and in the past, he had bullied her endlessly until Rose stopped him. The boy must have held a grudge for a long time and saw this as his perfect opportunity to capitalize.
"I… Won't get in trouble for defending myself, will I?" Lily asked hesitantly.
Some of the boys gasped at her asking such a question, and others immediately began to protest.
"No way!"
"You can't punish her! It's all Tim's fault!"
"Yeah!"
Oz chuckled at the enthusiasm and shook his head. "No, you've got more than enough witnesses and testimony that it was self-defense. At worst, you might get a scolding from Margit for being beyond the walls and ruining your clothes."
Lily sighed and then explained how she defended herself. She distracted Tim and then used glyphs to protect herself.
Glyphs? Oz wondered as he tried his hardest to recall what he knew about them. The best he could remember was it was some form of written magic, and he tried to hide his ignorance.
"But isn't that a mage thing?" Oz questioned.
Lily gulped, "I… Can do magic," she admitted.
"It was so cool!" One of the boys immediately added, getting a lot of agreement from the others.
"Damn, why did I have to run and fetch the guards… It sounds like I missed something epic," Charlie, the boy who'd fetched Oz, whined.
"Really? That's crazy, since when could you do magic?," Oz asked with a grin. "Did your friend leave you with a magic item or something? Or did you maybe have a hazardous potion from Camilla?"
Oz tried his best to coax the truth out of Lily, assuring her that he would shield her from any consequences, even if it was something dangerous.
To his surprise, Lily frowned. "Rose and Miss Camilla have nothing to do with this. I can do magic."
"Lily… I give you my word; you or the others won't get in trouble," Oz tried to reason.
That caused the girl to frown even more. He had thought he was pretty good at speaking with the youngsters, but perhaps he'd misjudged his social capabilities.
The girl started muttering and wiggling her hands. Oz thought it might have been a social tick as she tried to come up with a lie, but then she looked at him sternly.
"I can do magic!" Lily declared and opened the palm of her hand.
Oz couldn't help but gasp. Floating in her opened palm were three tiny sparkles glowing with a silvery light. It looked exactly like the night sky stars as if she'd plucked them directly from the heavens.
The boys cheered at the demonstration while Oz found himself muttering a silent curse. This situation had certainly just gotten complicated.
***
There! I can do magic! Lily thought fiercely.
She didn't want someone to ignore her accomplishments, and she certainly did not wish for Rose or Camilla to suffer the consequences of her own actions.
Oz hadn't said anything. Perhaps he didn't believe her enough, so Lily gave a bit of a show as she caused the three Starlight stars to swirl around in her palm.
"Bloody hell! That looks like magic to me…" Oz mumbled, barely audible to Lily over the cheering boys.
"See, I can cast spells," Lily redeclared. "And I used magic to defend myself from Tim. Nobody else had anything to do with this."
"Okay…" Oz sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I believe you. Let's get back inside and… Report this, I guess?"
Lily couldn't help but frown now. Oz had seemed so reliable before, but now he was floundering. Was the situation that unreasonable for him?
"Can you walk back? I'm going to need to carry Tim," Oz asked as he gestured his thumb to the unconscious Leonia.
Lily nodded and began the somewhat awkward walk back to the city. Tim's unconscious form was on Oz's back while the boys looked like they were marching in a victory parade.
Why did it have to come out like this… I wanted to admit I had magic in a much more prepared situation. Stupid Tim!
Some of the younger boys kept asking Lily about magic, but she didn't want to speak with them. She'd somewhat retreated into her shell after this debacle. To get them off her back, she cast Starlight to distract them by making it swirl around a bit, which amused them greatly.
"Er… Can you turn off the magic when we return to the city?" Oz requested. "I'd rather avoid the questions from the public. If you don't mind."
Some of the boys complained about that, but Oz convinced them they needed to keep Lily's secret. Meanwhile, Lily kept trying to rehearse what she could tell Margit. No doubt the woman would be angry at such a secret coming out, not to mention that there had been a fight.
I really hope Tim takes all the blame… Sure, I shot magic at him, but he attacked us! I have the marks on my arm to prove it!
The older boy who'd tried to save her also had visible marks on his neck. He looked somewhat relieved and kept shooting nasty glances at the unconscious Tim.
When the other guards questioned Oz, he simply mentioned that there had been a scuffle near the forest. Which seemed to get them off his back. Lily didn't know whether to be relieved that they didn't press the issue or upset that they barely gave a damn.
In almost no time at all, they had reached the orphanage, and Lily could feel her nerves and doubts festering in her. She'd come no closer to her reasonable explanation to Margit.
"Can… Someone fetch Margit, please," Oz requested. "Don't mention magic or the fight; just tell her Oz wants to see her."
Two boys saluted and rushed off together. Others wandered off, either from boredom or hunger since it was probably dinner time. Lily's stomach grumbled at that thought, reminding her she'd spent much energy.
I'm going to get fat… My stomach keeps talking… Lily thought with embarrassment.
The familiar sight of Margit eventually came to the front door. She seemed pleasantly surprised until she noticed Tim, causing her expression to immediately turn sour.
"Tim!" Margit cried out with concern. "What happened?"
"He's just unconscious… Some minor burns. Can we talk about it inside?" Oz asked.
"Burns!?" Margit replied, shocked.
"Inside. Please, Margit!" Oz repeated.
"Please…" Lily added in a hushed whisper.
Margit finally noticed Lily and seemed about to fret about her disheveled appearance. The woman must have put two and two together as she suddenly went silent and agreed to talk inside.
Once inside, Margit directed Oz to a spot to drop off Tim. Even if it wasn't serious, he still needed to be seen. Lily was glad, as she didn't want to be in the room when he woke up.
I'll be eternally grateful if I never see him again for the rest of my life!
Then Margit led them to another room to discuss the events. She requested most of the boys who stuck around to leave, only requesting two of the eldest to remain and corroborate the events.
Once everyone sat down, Oz was the first one to break the ice, "So… Tim's been hunting gremlins and decided to attack the other boys and Lily here."
Margit looked flabbergasted by that revelation, "Tim? I thought his violent streak had finally stopped…"
"I think it came back when Rose left…" Lily answered in a whisper.
"I… See…" Margit replied, looking disturbed. She placed a gentle hand on Lily, "Are you okay?"
"My arm's bruised… But otherwise, just a few scrapes," Lily answered honestly.
Margit wasted no time checking Lily's arm, carefully rolling her sleeves up to see the whole picture. When she saw the results, she looked deeply troubled and disturbed.
Oz recounted the events in silence. The boys added their own agreements to the retelling. Then, it finally came to the moment Lily had been dreading.
"And then Lily stopped him," Oz replied.
"How?" Margit asked in astonishment.
"Magic…" Lily whispered, barely audible.
"Sorry, dear, can you speak up?" Margit requested.
"I used magic," Lily repeated a little louder.
Margit blinked a few times before apologetically smiling and gently rubbing Lily's shoulder, "Of course you did, dear…"
"Umm…" Oz mumbled sheepishly. "She's telling the truth. She used magic. Fire magic mostly, considering the burns."
Margit stared at Oz as if he'd suddenly sprouted a second head.
"Fire magic? But Lily…" Margit paused. "Are you sure it wasn't some alchemy or something? Maybe Rose left some fire in a bottle or something?"
"No, Rose and Camilla had nothing to do with this," Lily answered.
"Yes, Lily really did magic!" one boy replied.
"It was amazing! She saved the day!" another added.
Margit still looked like she wasn't buying it. You could practically hear the gears turning as she tried to devise a reasonable explanation for the events.
Lily sighed. She'd kept herself infused with Mana ever since the encounter, having not released her almost death grip on it. Her hands were cupped together like one might do to keep a trapped critter from flying away. Inside was a Starlight star.
She wasn't sure if it was due to the encounter, but her Astral affinity seemed to be working overtime. Sure, she'd grown highly familiar with the Starlight spell, having cast it successfully with two variations and under vastly distinct circumstances. But now, it seemed almost like she could command it to happen—just like Rose.
"Margit…" Lily said, grabbing the woman's attention.
"Yes, dear?" Margit asked, a little shaken.
"I can do magic," Lily said, uncapping her hands and revealing the brightly glowing star that began to rise up as if freed from its prison.
Margit audibly gasped, the boys grinned, and Oz chuckled nervously.
And Lily? She felt oddly free, like the star she'd just released.
Comments
TwistedToaster
Beautiful end to the chapter!
Jeanean
I mean, yeah, it sounds kinda weird in a vacuum. But simply consider that she pretty much only things about it when she gets hungry, which is supposedly something thats happening considerably more often than before. If YOU suddenly got hungry five times more often, you would probably also wonder if you were getting fat. As for why she might not want to be fat? She is planning to join a magic school and then become an adventurer. Considering that she doesn't get any physical boosts from killing monsters, getting fat could actually be a problem for her in that regard. And she does, in fact, not get much of a workout. Sure, she hunts monsters, but even that is more of a stroll through the forest with the occasional mental effort to cast spells. The rest of the time? She practices magic, reads, and writes.
Jeanean
I don't know where you get the "Extreme Luck factor" from. Sure, she is lucky to have gotten Arakil, but besides that, she hasn't been noticeably more lucky than the average person. If anything like this was at play, it would have shown in such a way that she has a noticeably high chance to cast the maximum number of stars on her offensive spell, which is something that hasn't been happening.
justoneman
Y'all this is a prepubescent child worrying about her weight literally minutes after a life-threatening fight. It's weird
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Gopard
its actually about fat men because they were a sign of influence in power in certain societies... Women were always supposed to look pretty next to the Men who "earned the money".
Antony Claughton
The way Oz was reacting, makes you wonder if there are special rules for magic users and if Lily is in trouble.
Fi
Tftc ❤️
phillip page
Aw, is that unintended consequences at the door, lily could you show them to their seat?
Engineer4God
Tank oo fur da chap!
Cat Man
TFTC, loving this story so far, originally subscribed way back for Syl but lost track of reading it regularly and now you drop another absolute banger, making me want to catch up on your other story as well once more.
Cat Man
Believe it or not fat women were considered ugly for all of human history. The whole notion that it was a sign of wealth and thus attractive is entirely fantasy lol. It makes logical sense a trait seen as almost universally undesirable by almost every human society would be present in a fantasy world. It’s like complaining the fantasy world has green grass so it’s not fantasy
Cat Man
You can tell who the insecure fatties are by the fact they even noticed the frequency of the jokes enough to get upset lol
justoneman
Okay, this is either some galaxy-brain world building that is so complex that a surface level reading makes no sense, or it's contemporary beauty standards leaking into a pre-industrial fantasy setting. I know which I'd put my money on
CataFlan
TFTC
Antony Claughton
In many medieval societies food was scarce, and possibly more so at an orphanage. I can see it being culturally bad to overeat and become fat. Even if Lily has never had it directed at her, and even been encouraged to eat, the big increase in her eating would be likely to worry her. I don’t think this is an unreasonable childhood response.
justoneman
Yeah, that was mostly rhetorical. I know how abusive people can be, but Margrit doesn't really give those vibes. That's kind of my issue with the whole fat anxiety thing; it feels so out of place
Chrystal 1776
You'd be surprised. There are some pretty mean people out there who are supposed to be care givers
justoneman
I would expect people to have been drilling into her head that she needs to eat more, not less. What sort of psycho tells a malnourished child not to eat so much or she'll get fat?
crazybot
MAGIC!
Momongama
Personally I still see it as nothing but a child who heard that if you eat a lot you get fat. It's not an uncommon thing to tell someone who's gorging themselves, but I guess it depends on the culture
JAndy
I agree it's getting old (it must be at least the third or fourth time she's concerned about getting fat), especially in a medieval world where people are way more physically active than in today's developed nations and starvation is probably a much bigger concern (Oz considered her body to basically have been malnourished as well, lending credence to that being a larger concern in this world). Lunadea, I hope this isn't a sign that you're struggling with anorexia.
Shai182
Think it's both of those, plus the Extrem Luck factor that the Girl has, caused it to become her natural power of sort, after all if you can Visualise the Glyph perfectly you can cast it at will.
D S
The new diet shake: a potion which causes constant mana leakage, increasing energy usage.
Kail311
It seems like Lily's astral affinity is having more of an effect than they thought. Maybe the mana starved nature of this world or her pure core resulted in an enhanced effect? She seems like she is quickly getting to Rose levels of inherent natural control. They definitely need to repair the eye so he can get a good look at what's going on.
justoneman
Again with the fat thing? Why is she so concerned about her weight?
Wensber
Thanks for the chapter!
Shai182
TFTC! Welcome to the World, First Magic Bunny of the Moon!
