You're the Same as Ever, Sister
"You're the same as ever, sister. ...Why didn't you keep your promise?"
Sien glared at me with a sharp, cutting look. In her hand she held the so-called unfair contract with my name plastered boldly across it.
"Wait, more importantly, weren't you supposed to be on the strike team———."
"What does it say here."
"...Rain will only look at Sien?"
"Then who is this person."
"The one who ended up sharing vanguard duty with me."
"Don't tell me you were seducing someone again?"
"...Sien, I swear I haven't seduced a single person since I got here."
"......"
"...Except for you."
The only woman I ever approached first was you. The moment I said it, Sien's tightly pressed lips twitched faintly. It was such a tiny movement that no one else would have noticed, but after a month of studying her, it stood out to me like a beacon.
I leaned carefully toward her ear. Sien flinched, and I whispered softly.
"You're my first and my last."
Then I pulled back, smiling as I met her eyes with a playful gaze.
"......Th-that...!"
Her snow-white face flushed crimson. Those amethyst eyes darted around, unable to find a place to settle, until———
"Huh? This is a contract violation, isn't it? Why does it feel like I'm the only one looking at you?"
"...Rain, you idiot."
The situation had completely flipped. Sien narrowed her eyes and puffed her cheeks just a little.
"Misunderstanding cleared up?"
"...I don't know anything about that."
"What if holding hands clears it up?"
I slid my hand out in front of her. Sien's hand shot forward on reflex. I deliberately pulled back at the last second, just out of reach, and her fingers twitched in the air.
A tiny sigh escaped her. At the same time she bit down on her lower lip with quiet force—a habit she always showed when she was deep in thought.
Cute.
She was seriously debating whether to get angry or take my hand. But I already knew exactly which choice she would make.
"...You'll clear up the misunderstanding, right?"
I gently placed my hand on top of her head. Sien lowered her eyes and looked up at me. When I stroked her hair softly, she closed her eyes in pleasure and let a faint smile bloom on her lips.
"If I hold this hand, the misunderstanding is cleared?"
"...I never misunderstood in the first place."
The face she made while saying that was the picture of pure innocence, like a duck pretending it hadn't eaten the bread.
"That's right. There's no way Sien would misunderstand when she trusts me so much~."
I let out a small laugh and squeezed her hand a little tighter. Even through the glove, her warmth came through clearly.
Our Sien really was this easy.
What if she meets a bad guy later?
I was seriously pondering whether I needed to teach her the basics of romance—something I never got to do while we were together—when a voice cut in.
"...What exactly are you two doing?"
Keith stood there with an utterly dumbfounded expression.
"So that's what was going on?"
After hearing the full story, Keith's gaze had grown strangely deep.
"Already living under someone's thumb at such a young age."
"...When you phrase it like that, it feels weird, you know?"
Was this the legendary fact violence I'd only heard about? Another heavy blow from Keith landed squarely in my chest. If it had been a silly joke I could have brushed it off, but since it was an undeniable truth, it hurt twice as much.
While I was inwardly sobbing over Keith's brutal honesty, she turned to Sien with a bright smile.
"Nice to meet you, Sien. I'm Keith Eipen. I'll be counting on you during this subjugation."
"...Sien Alencia. I'll be counting on you too."
Sien shyly took Keith's hand. If this had been the old Sien, she would have looked back and forth between us with a tearful face, unsure what to do. Now she could greet someone properly.
...Is this what it feels like to be a parent watching their child grow?
Our Sien was improving day by day.
"Shall we get along?"
"...That's impossible."
Sien's eyes sharpened as she swiftly pulled her hand away. The completely antisocial move hurt even me. Still, if she kept growing, it would be fine.
"Haha, as you can see, our Sien is quite introverted. ...Yes, I'd appreciate your understanding."
"Oh, no. How should I put it... it's actually really nice to watch."
"Pardon?"
"The way shy little Sien turns into an absolute puppy only in front of Rain."
"...Puppy?"
Sien's ears practically perked up at the word. It was a sensitive, wary look that might scare off anyone she wasn't close to, but Keith answered with a warm, gentle smile.
"As you know, puppies don't hide their hearts. They wag their tails furiously when they love someone, and they cling to be petted when they like someone. In human terms, it's an incredibly pure and honest kind of love."
"...Keep talking."
"It's only been less than an hour since I met you two, but even I could tell one thing. Sien likes Rain very, very much."
"......Rain. If you look over here, I'll hit you."
"I definitely won't look."
I'd rather take a hit from a monster than from Sien. I had zero desire to be carried off to the infirmary before the subjugation even started, so I quickly turned my head the other way.
...But what did I even do?
"But it's not just Sien. From what I see, Rain thinks about Sien just as much as she thinks about him."
"Wait, how did you know I think about Sien every waking———."
"...If you open your mouth, I'll hit you."
"———mmph."
...Seriously, why?
With no way to voice my grievance, I could only stare at Keith with a sullen face. She didn't spare me a single glance and kept speaking.
"So this is what I wanted to say."
"......"
"You two are clearly destined lovers! Have a beautiful romance~!"
Keith clapped her hands lightly and beamed. Contrary to her words, Sien and I had nothing to do with anything as nice as "destined love."
It'd make more sense to call it a bad relationship.
At least then I could argue that hate had turned into love. Unfortunately, her deduction was wrong, Keith.
I was just about to shake my head and tell her the truth when———
"———Keith, let's be friends."
Oh my god. Did I hear that right?
Sien was gently holding both of Keith's hands. A scene I thought I'd never see—not in this month, not even in the next year—was unfolding right before my eyes.
"I think we could become really good friends."
"Hehe, so I wasn't the only one who felt that way."
What? So I was the only one who didn't see this coming?
The two of them suddenly clasped hands and began whispering so quietly I couldn't hear. I wasn't particularly curious about the content, but how on earth had they gotten so close so fast?
...I really don't get it.
Was there some kind of code in that conversation that I wasn't privy to? Otherwise there was no reason for them to suddenly tell me to turn my head or shut my mouth!
I seriously tried to replay their exchange in my head and look for patterns, but I wasn't given the time.
"All vanguard team members, please proceed to meeting room three!!"
The subjugation was truly about to begin.
"I'm Ebinel Wents, leader of the vanguard team and vice-leader of the subjugation party. I'll be in your care today."
The central figure of the Aero school and third-ranked first-year in the 96th class magic department. The vanguard members sat around a round table with Ebinel at the center, and...
I didn't know about this.
Beside him stood the person in charge of the entire subjugation force—first-ranked first-year in the 95th class knight department.
"I am Sisen Alencia, strike team leader and subjugation leader, assigned to this mission."
Sisen Alencia stood there with a completely blank expression.
......So that's why she moved from the strike team to the vanguard.
I wasn't sure how to feel about it, but Sien remained remarkably calm. The person standing before her was the very one who had orchestrated the bullying here and abused her for years, yet Sien looked completely unfazed.
...What did sting, though, was how her face—bright and smiling only moments ago—had become just as cold as Sisen's.
Despite my personal feelings, the subjugation briefing continued.
"This dungeon has been assessed as D-rank. The expected monsters are 'wraiths.'"
The instant the word left Ebinel's mouth, most of the vanguard team froze. I'd suspected something when I saw the strike team was overwhelmingly composed of mages, and now that suspicion had become reality.
"...So that's why the subjugation force has so many mages?"
"Correct. Wraiths are difficult to handle. Physical attacks are useless unless their weakness is exposed."
"But that doesn't make any sense! We're just students on our first subjugation—how are we supposed to fight wraiths?!"
Among the countless monsters, wraiths were classified as a special type. They couldn't be subdued without specific methods, which was why entire guilds and hunters specialized in them. And now they were telling second-years to handle it?
Especially for those assigned to the vanguard, this felt like the height of unfairness. Fear began to spread even before the operation started, but Ebinel continued with a gentle smile.
"Please don't worry too much. This subjugation was only approved after the student council, the clan, and the academy management committee all agreed it was feasible. Above all, this dungeon has been rated D-class—a difficulty appropriate for early second-year students."
"......"
"I, along with Senior Sisen who is leading this force, guarantee that none of the problems you're worried about will occur."
His soft, reassuring voice quickly won the vanguard members over. After all, it was a mission they had to carry out whether they liked it or not. It really was a D-rank dungeon, and...
"Anyone who thinks they're going to die before we even start—I'll kill you myself."
Above all else, there was the overwhelming presence of Sisen Alencia. Facing a special-type monster was far preferable to angering her.
"......You're the same as ever, sister."
Sien's quiet murmur fell into the silence.