This is a story from about a hundred years before Brendan enrolled in Magias.
Once upon a time, in a certain place, there lived a creature named Lou.
"I'm Lou, yesh I am."
Lou declared:
"I wanna go to a mixer~!!"
Lou looked like a stuffed hamster, but surprisingly possessed a fierce drive for socialization. Lou was constantly on the prowl for opportunities to join group dates aimed at romancing women aged eighteen to twenty-two, or twenty-two to forty-six, or perhaps forty-six to one hundred.
No one knew where Lou had come from or for what purpose Lou had been born. Furthermore, Lou had little interest in anything other than cute girls.
Lou had but one worry.
It had been an agonizingly long time since meeting any lovely ladies.
Apparently, neighboring nations were waging a massive war, and before Lou knew it, the land around its territory had been reduced to a scorched wasteland.
"Ah, you over there! Won't you come play with Lou? Kyak-kyak-kyak! If you play with Lou, I'll treat you to a yummy dinner, yesh I will!"
Whenever Lou managed to spot a human figure, it was invariably a silent corpse.
Since leaving them out was unhygienic, burying them deep enough so that they couldn't be dug back up had become a daily chore.
Lou hated flies.
"Lately, there aren't any cute girls around, yesh..."
For several years now, Lou had been unable to organize any group dates to woo cute girls. That was how long this war had dragged on. This conflict between Someplace Country and Whatchamacallit Country, however, had nothing to do with Lou.
Then one day, Lou's long-cherished wish came true, and Lou found a girl.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
Or rather, an infant.
The woman who appeared to be her mother had already drawn her last breath while still clutching the baby.
Lou declared:
"I wanna go to a mixer~!"
Even for Lou, minors were out of the question.
However, leaving the child alone would almost certainly result in her death, so Lou reluctantly carried the infant home.
Lou's house (a 24LDK mansion) was fully outfitted with various defensive barriers, serving as an oasis in the middle of a battlefield completely untouched by the war.
As for the body of the parent (probably), Lou buried it near the house and erected a grave. To be honest, it was a pain.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
"Shut the hell uuup!!! What is with this creature?! You're way too loud, yesh you are!!"
A baby's cry is generally said to reach eighty to one hundred decibels. This level of noise rivals that of an active construction site, and real-world cases demonstrate that prolonged exposure to sounds above eighty-five decibels significantly increases the risk of hearing loss.
This serves as clear proof that parents across the country endure harsh child-rearing environments. Whenever one spots someone tending to an infant—regardless of gender—one should remain mindful that "that person is exhausted."
Naturally, being "exhausted" is a shared social burden common not only to guardians but to people in all walks of life; what is paramount is to recognize this without discrimination and to treat others kindly within reasonable limits—an act that is perhaps essential for building a sustainable society.
"I'm gonna make this shabby brat independent as fast as possible and kick her right out of Lou's house, yesh I will!"
Lou diligently fed the baby lipids, protein, iron, various forms of calcium, micronutrients like vitamins, and high-quality fatty acids rich in omega-3s; changed her diapers every few hours; sang lullabies so she could sleep peacefully; and spent every other waking moment attempting to organize mixers. Not a single participant was ever found.
Then one day, while sorting through the baby's belongings, Lou discovered what appeared to be a name tag.
The baby's name was Anastasia.
Lou thought it was a remarkably grandiose and somewhat cheeky name.
"Anastashia! It's time for din-din, yesh it is!"
"Okaaay, Mama."
"Lou is NOT Mama!!"
By the time the child reached the age where she could talk...
Despite being a mere brat, Anastasia had grown into a young girl who exuded a strangely divine aura. Looking back, her mother's attire had been rather refined as well, but Lou wasn't the type to dwell on the past.
"Anastashia! That's not how you hold your tableware, yesh! You musn't make a racket while eating!"
"Okaaay, Mama."
"People with messy eating habits get hated, yesh they do! The people who flop at mixers almost always have atrocious table manners! It's true! Seriously!"
Because Anastasia's table manners were legitimately terrible, Lou began by drilling proper dining etiquette into her.
Cheekily enough, Anastasia proved to be a fast learner, quickly picking up manners that would put full-grown adults to shame.
"Mama, you shouldn't make noise when you eat."
"You... shut the hell up!!! Don't talk back to your parent!!!"
Despairing over Anastasia's lack of social grace, Lou trained her to keenly perceive emotional subtleties in conversation and to refine her speech.
"Communicayshun is the most important all-purpose tool in life, yesh! You gotta actively mingle with lots of your own kind and make as many friends as possible, yesh you do!"
"Why?"
"Because life is a lot more fun that way, yesh it is!"
From the very next day, whenever Anastasia spoke with others, she intuitively read what they were thinking, prioritized saying what would please them, and simultaneously weighed the practical benefits.
However, because her execution was far more natural and sophisticated than Lou's, Lou could only maintain the upper hand by picking petty fights, snapping, "People are gonna hate you for that, for real."
"As a lady, you must also mind your conduct and personal grooming! You've gotta master elegant etiquette from an early age and stay on top of the latest fashion trends, yesh you do!"
"Yes, Mother."
Because Anastasia was such a quick study, Lou taught her an endless array of subjects.
"The secret to winning people over at a mixer is how naturally you display your 'good breeding,' yesh! Anastashia! What is good breeding?!"
"One's speech. One's conduct. One's grooming and cultural refinement. And above all else, a heart filled with compassion for others, Mother."
Though there remained some lingering doubt as to whether it had truly been necessary to go this far, the result was undeniable: Anastasia had blossomed into a splendid lady who could be presented anywhere with pride.
Time passed, and Anastasia turned twelve years old.
Yet the flames of war only continued to spread, and because the noise was becoming utterly intolerable, Lou began considering moving to another country with Anastasia.
"Mother, there is something I must discuss with you."
One day, Anastasia broached the subject with an unusually solemn expression.
"I must fulfill my mission. It is only recently that I have finally come to realize this."
"Mishun?"
"You may have intended to conceal it from me, Mother, but I already know my true identity."
Lou suddenly felt a powerful urge to go to a mixer right in the middle of this talk.
"My true name is Anastasia Lutze Dravenia. I am the daughter of Grand Duke Diego and Grand Duchess Melanna of the Duchy of Temcha, and the sole heir with the right of succession to the grand ducal throne."
Is that so?
"If I reach out to the moderates of Temcha, I may be able to bring an end to this endless war."
Is that so?
"I did consider living out peaceful days by your side, Mother, but I choose the path of fulfilling my duty as one of noble blood. Showing compassion to others, and preaching love and peace to my neighbors. Guided by your teachings, Mother, I shall lead the people and bring a halt to this war."
I wanna go to a mixer so baaad~.
"Mother. Thank you for raising me all these years. I will never forget this debt of gratitude as long as I live. You are, without a doubt, my true mother."
"Aah... Lou's kinda worried about you, so Lou is coming along too, yesh I am."
April 7, 1918 of the Dragon King Calendar — the Day of Halle.
The Kingdom of Gleefia and the Duchy of Temcha were locked in mutual devastation.
In order to put an end to the conflict that history would remember as the "Continental Unification War," a lone young girl set out from the borderlands.
Anastasia Lutze Dravenia, revered by future generations as the "Grand Princess of Salvation," and the mysterious unidentified creature Lou.
One girl and one beast. No one yet knew that this utterly frail and diminutive will would drastically alter the destinies of the Kingdom of Gleefia and the Duchy of Temcha.