Magia Record Story One Fleeting Summer Night
Part One
Chapter 1
Tsukuyo Amane and Tsukasa Amane are excited to finally be at the beach. They marvel at the couch and umbrellas that are already setup as Touka Satomi explains that it’s her own private beach so they can do whatever they like. Alina Gray and Mifuyu Azusa are dying from the heat but Nemu Hiiragi thinks going to the beach today is a great idea for getting inspired. Touka suggests they head over to her vacation house where the head housekeeper greets them. Touka looks a bit down until Tsukuyo asks her what’s wrong. Touka is sad because this particular vacation home is really old and outdated but her father really likes it for some reason. Mifuyu chastises her for badmouthing the place they’ll be staying at, but the housekeeper agrees that it’s a very old-fashioned home. Still, she’ll be doing her best to accommodate everyone and begins by going to get drinks for everyone. The Amane twins are stunned that someone could own such a large beautiful house and consider it a spare so they resolve to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and really enjoy themselves for the next three days.
Chapter 2
After they all change into their swimsuits, the group heads down to the beach. There, Touka insists everyone grab hands as they stand in a line. Mifuyu thinks they’re playing Red Rover at first until Touka pull them all forward and they all run splashing into the ocean together.
After that, Touka suggests they use the flyboards next (hoverboards that fly using water pressure). Touka urges the Amanes to go on the boards first so she can see how it works. After that, she promises to let them go on a banana boat next. Mifuyu and Alina watch from the sidelines until Alina demands Mifuyu get into the shade before she burns her perfect body. She then demands that Mifuyu pose for one of her sketches since the only thing she’s remotely interested in is drawing Mifuyu, especially now that she’s wearing a swimsuit. Nemu offers the pair some cold juice to sip on as they all relax on the beach.
Elsewhere Tsukuyo and Tsukasa shriek in surprise as they bounce across the ocean on a banana boat with Touka cheering them on from the beach. Eventually the twins can’t hold on and are tossed into the sea. They manage to make their way back to the beach where they stand panting. Touka claims she’s bored of watching the twins do everything and offers them a reward if they can think of something fun for her to do. She offers them a pair of tickets to Minaminagi Sea plus a hotel voucher. The twins’ eyes light up at the thought of a vacation with just the two of them until they remember their homework and daily lessons. Still, the thought is too tempting to pass up so the twins resolve to try to win the prize and then figure it out afterwards.
Chapter 3
The twins wrack their brains trying ot come up with something, but since they’re unfamiliar with the area it’s rather difficult to do. Tsukasa then has the brilliant idea of asking the housekeeper, so they head back to the vacation home. It turns out the whole town is going to throwing a big festival that night. The housekeeper thinks even Touka will be interested since there is an unusual ceremony that is part of the festival, in which gods are summoned in order for the town to express their gratitude to them. The twins thank the housekeeper and hurry to inform the others.
The group heads to where the festival is set up, but there are no people or anyone running any of the booths, nor do they see any kind of ceremonies or rites being performed anywhere. Mifuyu suggests they ask a girl who is wearing shrine maiden attire if she knows anything about it. The twins go and ask the girl, but according to the girl the festival has been canceled since one of their historic adornments has gone missing and they can’t perform the ceremony without it. Without the ceremony the town doesn’t feel like celebrating at all. The twins offer to help search for the missing item so the ceremony and festival can occur. One of the town elders recognizes Alina and Touka, having read about them in the newspaper. They ask if the other girls are just as accomplished so the twins play on their flutes for a bit to demonstrate their talents. Mifuyu explains she’s there to help keep an eye on Nemu and Touka. Touka volunteers Nemu to help in the search since she’s written mystery novels before. The elder consents to allow them to help in the search and Nemu asks to be taken to the place where the adornment was last seen.
Chapter 4
The group head to a shrine in the woods where the lost adornment is traditionally kept. Tsukuyo asks about the adornment and one of the villagers describes it as a Coral Necklace that was made by one of their residents ages ago. By itself it has no significant value, but it is priceless to the village as it is a key component to their ceremony. Normally the necklace rests in the shrine and is only taken out on the day of the festival which is why no one noticed it was missing until today. The twins get a strange sensation as they approach the shrine but say nothing. Alina gets bored and decides to head back to the house, with Mifuyu calling after her. Nemu investigates the shrine and doesn’t see any damage to the lock, so she suspects either a villager or an outsider with knowledge of the shrine must have used a key to open it. Nemu doesn’t think they took the necklace for the money, seeing as the age of the necklace means the coral it’s made of isn’t worth anything anymore nor is it rare. After thinking it over, Nemu concludes that whoever took the necklace was aiming to cancel the festival. The villager is surprised that someone would want to do that, but he considers it makes sense since the Pearl Comb, the other item necessary for the ceremony, is still safe and sound. Nemu asks to see the comb and the villager prepares to take them to the ocean shrine where it’s kept. The twins opt to follow Nemu to the shrine and so does Touka, until Nemu suggests that Touka go back into town and do background checks on the townspeople. Mifuyu offers to go with Touka so she doesn’t go alone. Touka says she’ll do it in exchange for Nemu’s dessert and takes off with Mifuyu. As the girls were talking, Tsukasa notices a glittery silver strip of paper on the floor.
Chapter 5
Nemu and the twins soon find themselves in a cave on the beach. They look around in the darkness only to discover that the cave is filled with light-reflecting moss. The villager leads them further into the cave where they come upon another shrine.
As they approach the shrine, the twins once more feel a presence near them. The two hold each other’s hand to reassure themselves. Nemu investigates the shrine and finds that the pearl comb is still inside the shrine. This backs up her earlier suspicions that someone is trying to stop the ceremony since they need only take one of the two items necessary to perform the ceremony. Off on the side, Tsukasa asks Tsukuyo if the presence they feel isn’t stronger here than it was in the woods. They can tell it’s not a Witch’s presence, but it still feels unsettling. The twins ask if they can leave but Nemu wants an extra minute to organize her thoughts. As Nemu stands deep in her thoughts, the twins can feel the presence strongly emanating from the shrine and wonder if they’re the only two that can feel it.
