Sisters and Secrets
Selene raised an eyebrow at the sudden remark. “What’s with that all of a sudden? You sound like one of those old geezers living in the shade of the World Tree.”
“Sister… when you look at our ages, we’re pretty close to being old geezers ourselves… No, never mind. It’s just… I’ve never actually seen you with a man before, and like you said, we’re not exactly young anymore.”
Unlike Selene, who kept her hair neatly trimmed to just past her shoulders, her younger sister had grown hers out until it reached her waist. Lilina twisted the ends of her long locks around her fingers, looking embarrassed as she offered an awkward smile.
At the sight, Selene’s brows drew together in a thin line, sharpening her gaze. …Has she found herself a man?
The image of her sister walking side by side with a man didn’t quite compute, but Lilina had plenty of charm. It wasn’t impossible. Still, the last time they’d met, the girl had practically sung about how much she preferred being alone, so this was rather surprising.
Watching Lilina fidget uncomfortably with the high collar of her top, Selene let out a small sigh and spoke.
“Marriage… marriage, huh. Well, I’ve had a few proposals to meet up, and even some that were basically engagement offers…”
“R-really? To you? What? Why am I only hearing about this now!”
“Uh, I mean… is it really that shocking?”
“Of course it is!”
Selene had never paid much attention to the matter, so her sister’s unexpectedly strong reaction left her flustered instead. It might sound embarrassing to say aloud, but Selene was quite beautiful. Of course, some people were put off by the dark skin tone typical of dark elves and her sharp, piercing eyes. Yet her figure and features were attractive enough to overshadow all of that. The same went for her half-sister Lilina.
That was why, during her time at the academy, all sorts of people had approached her. She never volunteered details about her past, so only a handful of people—excluding the headmaster—knew her true age or that she had fought in the war against the demon king’s army. As a result, neatly dressed male professors and spoiled noble scions full of nothing but vanity would occasionally throw half-hearted flirtations her way. Some even suggested she quit her teaching post and become their personal maid instead.
Naturally, she would report them to the headmaster, who would smile and promise to handle it. Those men would then vanish from the academy after receiving appropriate punishment. Not every man who approached her was like that, though. Some were genuinely polite. Selene didn’t ignore them or pick fights for no reason. After all, she wasn’t about to deny basic biological instincts. She simply had no particular interest in such things. Unless the advances became excessive, she usually didn’t bother confronting them. Most would back off on their own after a polite rejection.
Anyway, the word “engagement” seemed to have shocked Lilina so thoroughly that she began grilling Selene for every last detail about those incidents. A small seed of suspicion took root in the back of Selene’s mind and refused to fade.
“So what happened? You turned them all down?”
“Obviously. For one thing, they were all human. The age gap would have been hundreds of years.”
“W-well… what’s wrong with that? We don’t really age, do we? I mean, we do eventually, but it would take so long that any human would be long gone by then.”
“At the very least, it wouldn’t be a lifespan any human could keep up with.”
“Ugh…”
“Hmm…”
Seeing her sister looking strangely troubled, Selene picked up one of the cookies on the table, popped it into her mouth, and quietly cast a spell.
"Eyes that discern truth."
⟨ Truth’s Gaze ⟩
A fleeting blue light glimmered in Selene’s pupils before vanishing. Lilina might have noticed under normal circumstances, but she was too lost in thought to pay attention. It was a simple spell that could detect lies, though not one just anyone could use. Once she confirmed the magic had activated properly, Selene finally voiced the question that had been nagging at her.
“So. Why are you suddenly talking about marriage? Did you meet a man?”
“Eh? W-what? Haha, of course not.”
Watching Lilina force an awkward smile while nervously fiddling with the sleeve of her uncomfortable-looking top, Selene sighed again when the spell detected no reaction at all. …It’s not a lie, at least…
“Then… have you caught feelings for someone?”
“No, no—why are you suddenly asking all these questions?”
“Because you’ve been the one bringing up lovers and marriage this whole time.”
“Ahaha… No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just… a married couple came into the shop as customers the other day. It made me think about it out of nowhere, that’s all.”
A sharp jolt raced across Selene’s mind. The spell had caught the lie.
“Hmm…”
“Ahaha…”
After watching her sister’s awkward reaction for a moment, Selene finally sighed and spoke.
“Fine. Whatever it is, you’ll handle it yourself.”
She chose not to press the matter any further. It’s not that she has a lover… but if I had to guess, she’s developed a crush on someone. Well, everyone should have experiences like that at least once in their life.
Selene herself had never gone through anything of the sort, but if her sister had found someone to love, she was more than willing to cheer her on. As long as it wasn’t some strange weirdo, of course. With another sigh, Selene dispelled the magic. Anything more would be crossing a line.
“Anyway, none of that matters right now. Let’s just eat.”
“Y-yeah! It’s been a while—I should bring out some of the good liquor.”
The two of them quickly finished preparing the meal with a few spells and sat down to eat. It was just another ordinary day.
“…Hey!”
“Mmm… wanna sleep more…”
“Sleep more for what! You have to go to class!”
“Haa…”
Feeling someone shake my body, I cracked my eyes open and found myself lying on the bed in Eloise’s room. These days I used it like my own, but it was still technically hers. Of course, falling asleep every night after thoroughly intertwining our bodies with Eloise had become completely routine by now.
In front of me stood Eloise, fresh from the shower, radiating warm steam and glistening with moisture. A towel was perched on her still-damp hair, which she apparently hadn’t dried yet. She must have taken a shower, wiped off just enough water to wake me up, and come straight back. In other words, she was still only wearing underwear.
“Why do I even go to the academy? I’ve learned more than enough… Can’t they just let me graduate already?”
“What kind of nonsense is that… And what do you mean, you’ve learned enough? Besides, you should at least be at the top of the class before saying something like that.”
Eloise nudged my body with her foot, urging me to get up. I looked up at her from where I lay on the bed and couldn’t help but smile.
“Eloise. I can see everything.”
“What?”
“Just kidding, just kidding. More importantly, you’ve reached the point where walking around in just your underwear doesn’t even faze you anymore.”
Her soft foot pressed against me, but the moment she heard my words she panicked and tried to pull away. I was faster, though—my hand shot out and caught her ankle.
“Eep!”
“Gotcha.”
I gave a firm tug, and in an instant Eloise tumbled toward the bed. I skillfully pulled her into my arms and dragged her under the covers with me. She began slapping at my arm as if she couldn’t breathe. Her skin still carried the warmth of the shower, and the gentle scent of her body wash tickled my nose. Ever since my sense of smell had grown sharper, Eloise had started favoring these soft, delicate fragrances.
“Mmph…! L-let go, let gooo!”
“There, there. Breathe. Just breathe.”
“Stop messing around… Mmph…! Mmm!”
When I loosened my grip a little, she immediately tried to escape. I caught her again and pressed my lips to hers. By now it felt completely natural—Eloise melted against me and returned the kiss.
“Chu… mwah…”
“Mmm… chu… mwah…”
Haah— As if by some unspoken agreement, we explored each other’s lips and tongues before finally pulling back to look at one another. Eloise, now somewhat recovered, pouted and let out a sigh.
“Hurry up and get ready. We’re going to be late at this rate.”
“No, like I told you last time, you’re the one who wakes up too early.”
She spoke as if arriving at school early was the most natural thing in the world, but to me, showing up an hour before class started seemed unusual. What was even stranger was how many students actually did arrive early.
“I thought living in the dorms meant it was normal to show up five minutes before class.”
“What are you even talking about? Hurry up and get ready. And let go of me already.”
That’s how it had been in my previous life, but apparently it wasn’t the case for academy students. Eloise grumbled and poked at my arm, trying to make me release her, but I simply smiled, slipped my hands under both her armpits, and lifted her up so she was lying on top of my chest.
“Let’s do it once, nice and clean, before we go.”
“Eep… Don’t talk nonsense. I already showered.”
“Well, we can just shower together again, can’t we?”
“No, I said if we just leave now—mmph!”
Since I had no intention of simply heading to class, I stole her lips once more. Smiling, I slid my hand down toward her panties. After all, morning sex was an essential part of the daily schedule.