Lilina and Selene
Lilina and Selene. As a half-elf and a dark elf respectively, Lilina and Selene shared the same surname—Tenebris—making them sisters. Of course, the reason Lilina was a half-elf while her sister was not came down to the simple fact that they had different mothers. Their dark elf father had first been with Selene’s mother and fathered her, then later taken up with Lilina’s elven mother and produced Lilina. Naturally, Lilina had inherited such a strong dose of dark elf blood that her skin tone looked almost indistinguishable from a pure dark elf, which led most people to mistakenly assume she was one. In truth, she was a half-elf. Still, this detail had never caused any real problems. Selene’s mother and Lilina’s mother got along just fine, and their father had always mediated between them with tact. So while people said the sisters didn’t share the same blood, the truth was they shared exactly half of it.
Just like their parents, the bond between Lilina and Selene was far from bad. In fact, it ran deeper than most blood relatives ever managed. Given their age gap of several decades, it might have seemed strange to short-lived races like humans, but for elves who routinely lived for centuries, it was hardly worth mentioning. The two had grown up among their clan just like any other family until the Demon King’s army appeared on the continent. As if by some unspoken pact, both sisters marched off to that battlefield. Countless demons were swept away by Lilina and Selene’s combined power. After the war, Selene took up a position as a professor at the kingdom’s academy, while Lilina settled into a peaceful life running her shop in the Black Market.
They each lived their own lives now, but the warmth between them had never faded. It was only natural, then, that Selene would occasionally drop by her sister’s store to check whether anything was wrong. But running into her in this particular situation was the last thing Lilina needed.
Why now of all times…!
Taking in her unmistakably disheveled state, Lilina sprang up from the bed and snapped her fingers, casting a quick spell. A faint breeze stirred through the room, sweeping away the thick, sticky atmosphere, the heavy scent of sex, and the faint traces of sweat, ventilating everything in seconds. She hurriedly straightened the sheets and cast another spell, dissolving the lingering saliva and bodily scent Serina had left on her skin.
“Ah, these bite marks… ugh…! Why did she leave so many?!”
She briefly considered using magic to hide the traces, but the visitor outside was a far more skilled mage than she was. If Selene saw any spells cast on her little sister’s body, she would immediately grow suspicious. In the end, Lilina opened her wardrobe, pulled out clothes far more modest than her usual style, and slipped them on. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart.
“I’m coming out now! Just wait a second!”
After frantically finishing her cleanup, she headed for the door.
Selene Tenebris was a dark elf who had lived for a very long time. Even among long-lived races, few elves who had left their clan’s forest to settle in other regions could match her lifespan—only herself and her younger sister Lilina came to mind. Most elders preferred to spend their later years in quiet retirement within the villages where they were born. So it was only natural that the sisterly bond between Selene and Lilina, both of whom had left the World Tree’s forest, remained so strong. They helped each other when needed and solved each other’s problems. Selene didn’t particularly like the idea of her sister living in the shady Black Market, but she trusted Lilina’s ability and believed it would be wrong as an older sister to ignore her wishes. Thus, she had allowed it. Though the word “allowed” felt a bit ridiculous after five hundred years. For a long-lived race, five centuries was no short time, and her sister was no longer a child. Even so, as the older sibling, she couldn’t help but worry.
That was why, the moment Principal Elina mentioned trouble in the Black Market, Lilina had immediately come to mind. Just as the principal had said, there didn’t seem to be any major issues. The market was running as usual. Of course, the auction house owner was busily moving about, weeding out traitors among his staff in a thorough purge, but that wasn’t Selene’s concern.
Not long after she felt Lilina’s gaze from behind the counter, rustling sounds came from the inner room. Naturally, the source had to be her sister. Even if Lilina wasn’t properly running the shop, Selene respected her privacy and didn’t mind.
Well, maybe she just overslept.
It was obvious the store was more of a hobby than a serious business. If her sister wanted to rest, there was nothing wrong with that…
With a sharp rattle, the beaded curtain flew open violently and Lilina appeared.
“S-Sis? You’re here?”
“…Hmm.”
She looked distinctly different from usual.
“S-Sis? Is something wrong?”
“…No, nothing like that.”
While it was different from normal, it wasn’t exactly strange. The “oddity” Selene sensed had to do with her sister’s outfit and overall aura. Selene was well aware that her own personality tended toward the rigid and serious. In contrast, Lilina had always been free-spirited and relaxed. Back when Selene still lived among the clan, she too had worn the light, revealing clothing typical of most elves. The common human stereotype about elves and their skimpy attire wasn’t entirely baseless. These days Selene dressed more formally because of her position as an academy professor responsible for teaching students, but her sister had never cared much about clothing. Confident in her own power, Lilina had always walked around the Black Market in very light outfits.
Yet here she was, wearing a sweater and slacks that covered her entire body.
“Hmm…”
“S-Sis?”
“No, like I said, there’s no problem. I was just surprised you’re dressed differently. Still, that style suits you too.”
“Huh? O-Oh… thanks.”
Lilina forced an awkward smile, clearly uncomfortable, but Selene chose not to press the issue. She was the type of person who respected her sister’s privacy, after all.
“So, what brings you here today? I feel like we just saw each other recently. Did something happen?”
“What, is it so strange for a sister to come check on her little sibling?”
“U-Um?”
“I’m joking. Don’t look so flustered.”
Anyone could see this was not the usual carefree Lilina. Selene let her gaze drift slowly from her sister’s head to her toes. Lilina smiled awkwardly in response.
“A-Anyway! Since you’re here, let’s have some tea. Standing around at the counter feels weird!”
“Alright.”
Her reaction was obviously suspicious, but Selene decided not to point it out. She might learn more if they just talked. With that, Selene walked past the counter as if it were the most natural thing in the world and headed straight for Lilina’s room.
“W-Wait…! Not there!”
“Hm?”
“Th-That room… I spilled some reagents during an experiment! The smell is really weird right now… so I’m airing it out! Let’s go to the other room instead!”
“…I see.”
Hearing the awkward smile and the excuse that sounded like it had been made up on the spot, Selene watched her sister’s back for a moment, then quietly snapped her fingers and released a pulse of mana.
The room… at least contains no living beings. The traces of an “experiment” are rather vague, and there are signs of magic being used…
The door was closed and Lilina’s spell prevented a perfect scan, but it didn’t seem like anyone was hiding inside.
Well… of course not. Neither of us even has a lover.
Deciding she was overthinking things, Selene withdrew her mana and followed Lilina to another room. Meanwhile, Lilina felt like she was dying inside.
That… that didn’t get caught, right? Yeah. No matter how good Sis is, she can’t possibly use magic better than me in my own space!
Even if Selene still treated her like a child, Lilina was a mage on the level of an archmage. There was no way she would miss the flow of mana Selene had released. She could tell her sister was imagining all sorts of things. But unless it was a deliberate, focused scanning spell, she wouldn’t be able to see inside the room properly. Realizing she had safely dodged the bullet, Lilina led Selene into the neatly organized kitchen, snapping her fingers to prepare simple cookies and tea.
“So, has anything unusual happened lately?”
“What could possibly happen around here? Although I did hear the auction house has been noisy recently. Not that it has anything to do with me.”
“I heard about that too. Apparently a group of warlocks tried to steal auction items and ended up dead.”
“Sigh. Those idiots are just giving all warlocks a bad name and making things harder for you, Sis.”
Once the conversation started, the two fell into their usual casual chatter—daily life at the academy, incidents in the Black Market, the latest rumors floating around the continent. After talking about everything from fairly important matters to complete nonsense, Lilina seemed to remember something and carefully opened her mouth.
“Oh, um… Sis, there’s something I’ve been curious about…”
“What is it… all of a sudden.”
Selene tensed slightly at the sudden change in her sister’s tone. Was there some kind of problem?
“Sis… are you ever going to get married?”
“…What kind of question is that all of a sudden?”
Contrary to Selene’s worried expectations, Lilina’s question turned out to be rather comical.