Melanie the Reincarnator

There stood a young girl in front of mirror, her red eyes shining in the reflection, her blaze red hair flowing freely as she dons a white blazer, and her white skirt, which just barely reaches her knees, bouncing around as she does different poses and eventually landed with a smug smile on her face as she puffed out her flat chest, her height just narrowly hitting the 140's, the girl was petite.

《You're gonna be late.》

Behind her, a girl that was a carbon copy of the red-haired girl, but with jet black hair and a simple black dress, was laying down on a couch reading a magazine with a flat expression.

《Hepha, prepare Nicholas in a bit.》

《Melanie, you... You're seriously using Hepha for a ride...》

The red-haired girl, Melanie, who had just turned of age, is preparing for her first day in the Royal Academy of Arms, an elite school known for educating the soon-to-be strongest Giftbearers and Aegis users in all of Nevadalier. Hepha, Hephaestus is Melanie's Aegis. An extremely rare kind that can materialize her own body, not to mention being 1st Generation Aegis. Named after Hephaestus, the god of the forge, Hepha can analyze and then perfectly copy any other Aegis.

Melanie and Hepha have been together for as long as the two can remember, transcending lifetimes as Melanie's reincarnation loop continues. Long story short, when Melanie dies, she reincarnates into another world at a random point in time, carrying over her face, her name, her signature red hair, and bringing Hepha along with her.

《Claus is ready. Make sure we don't get seen.》

Melanie's preparations were all done and dealt with, and she's already said her goodbye's to her mother and father. All that was left is to travel the fair distance between her home, the Theilinheart duchy, and the royal capital of Nevadalier. And to do that, Melanie had Hepha copy an Aegis fit for fast travel, Saint Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus. In front of the mansion that is Melanie's home was a large sleigh with eight reindeer, and right next to the sleigh was a more normal-looking, but still extravagant carriage with the helmsman looking quite shocked.

《Ahh, sorry Al, but I'm using this one. I'll be late if I don't hurry.》

《U- understood... May you stay safe, milady...》

《Thanks! Well then, I'm off.》

Melanie hopped in the sleigh with Hepha following right after her. Hepha doesn't really talk to anyone other than Melanie, but it's not like her existence is kept a secret. Everyone in the Thelinheart mansion knew that Hepha was Melanie's Aegis, everyone knew what she was capable of, and no one questioned it. Not even her own parents asked how or when she'd contracted such a rare Aegis.

《...Hepha will keep her safe, don't worry.》

With these last words from Hepha, the sleigh began moving, and it eventually lifted up from the ground and into the sky. The eight reindeer moved in unison, with Hepha manning the helm.

《The capital's quite the ways away, it'd take a week if we went by carriage...》

Once they were a couple hundred meters away from the mansion, Melanie let out a little complaint.

《And we'd already be there by now if you didn't decide to stay home until the last minute. Hepha knows you have Hepha, but at least try to use what's given to you...》

Hepha made a calm retort while keeping her eyes forward. She didn't have to keep her eyes anywhere, since they were in the sky, and there wasn't any sky traffic around. The reindeer also have something like a gps-system, so in truth, she didn't have to do anything, but Hepha still manned the helm by instinct.

《Ehehe... You're just more convenient!》

The two have known each other since their first memory, and have been together even through all sorts of dangerous situations. It's safe to say they were the best of friends, though one is clearly benefitting more from this relationship than the other.

They were flying leisurely through the sky, through great plains and forests, above long roads and carriages, though no one could see them clearly as they were above the clouds. This leisire time, however, was abruptly interrupted by a loud monotone voice.

《Alacer. Advenientis vocationem a—》

《Reject it.》

《Fiat.》

Upon Melanie's refusal, the voice disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. Hepha looked back at Melanie with a concerned look for an instant, but went back to looking forward. The two then continued their flight on a flying sleigh carried by eight reindeer.

《Quanto diutius donec perveniamus?》

《...Melanie?》

《Ah, sorry... How much farther left?》

Melanie suddenly spoke in a monotone voice just like the one from before, but she quickly corrected herself upon hearing Hepha's concerned voice.

《Around half an hour, you can take a nap if you want, Hepha will wake you up when we get there.》

《Alright, I'll do just that, then...》

Melanie layed down relaxed inside the sleigh, and shut her eyes closed. Hepha stood up from the helm, walked over to the sleeping Melanie, and opened her left eye. Unlike before, it was glowing a myriad of colors, looking like a rainbow.

《That's not looking good... How long has it been since this last happened...》

Hepha closed Melanie's left eye and then lifted the lid of her right eye this time. It was the same red color as her hair. Seeing this, Hepha let out a sigh of relief, and materialized a sharp needle.

《We need to get you fixed up before you start breaking again... Masamune, do Hepha a favour.》

She whispered to the needle and stabbed Melanie on her left arm. However, instead of bleeding like a normal person would after being stabbed by a needle, Melanie's left arm instead broke apart into seperate components, like a cyborg arm, you could say.

Hephaestus and the needle she called Masamune got to work.