IF — Lily's Graduation
Ruyter — the city they called the Empire's revolution.
And there stood the place every boy and girl dreamed of: Regis Academy.
Bright laughter rang out. Fireworks burst in every direction. The academy was steeped in the mood of a festival.
"Lily. Congratulations on graduating."
A red-haired young man held out his hand to her.
"Thanks, Robin. Congrats on graduating too."
She took his handshake and returned the greeting.
"It's a shame. Talent like yours would be a huge help with monster subjugation."
"Heh. I appreciate the offer, but I'll pass. There's something I absolutely have to do."
"Alright. You're welcome anytime — come find me if you change your mind."
"Yeah. Well, got it. See you."
"Yeah."
After a light exchange of farewells, they each walked their own way.
I won't be coming to find you, Robin.
What she wanted had nothing to do with hunting monsters.
She walked the academy's long corridor, and two figures she had been aching to see appeared before her eyes.
Her beloved older sister by blood. And—
"Lily!!! Congratulations on graduating!!!"
The girl came flying at her and threw her arms around her in a fierce embrace.
Her beloved Hera unnie.
Still clinging to her, Hera was already shedding tears of pure emotion.
Dania unnie sighed at the sight of her, then looked at Lily and smiled.
"Congratulations on graduating, Lily."
"Thanks, unnie."
The two people she loved more than anything — different kinds of love, of course. Still, thanks to both of them, she had been living a life of pure happiness.
And today.
Today was the day the fruit of all that long waiting and endurance would finally ripen.
She leaned in and whispered quietly against Dania unnie's ear.
"Unnie. For one week… you know, right?"
"…Just don't go too hard on her."
Dania looked at Hera with worried eyes.
She wouldn't like it, but it couldn't be helped.
This was a promise the two of them had made to each other long ago.
Lily looked down at the girl still clutching her clothes, eyes brimming.
"Our Lily… sniff… already graduating…"
Even her crying face was somehow this adorable.
Lily brushed a tear from Hera's cheek with her fingertip, then slipped the finger into her mouth and licked it clean.
Her tears were nothing but sweet.
"Unnie. You know you have to play with me all day today, right?"
Hera's face bloomed into a bright smile at her words.
"Of course! Our Lily can do whatever she wants! You're an adult now, so you can even drink, huh?"
An adult.
The age she had waited for, longed for, with everything she had.
Everyone else said youth was the best and looked back on it fondly — but she alone had desperately wished to become an adult as soon as possible.
"Yes. I'm going to do everything I want!"
She took Hera's hand and beamed.
And with her other hand, she hid something deeper behind her back, out of sight.
In that hand was a small glass vial filled with a mysterious liquid.
Today was the graduation of my beloved little sister, Lily.
Originally I'd planned for the three of us — Dania unnie included — to spend the whole day together. But Lily wanted it to be just the two of us. Instead of hanging out like usual as a trio, she said she wanted something a little more special.
I felt a tiny bit disappointed, but today Lily was the star. I wanted to give her anything she asked for.
"It's delicious, right, Lily?"
"Yeah. It's good."
Lately Lily had started mixing polite speech and casual speech with me like this.
She used to speak to me only in formal language. The fact that this change had appeared meant she felt that much more comfortable around me, right?
I actually preferred hearing her casual speech. It felt so much more intimate than the polite form.
Right now the two of us were having lunch together at a restaurant.
We were going to play all day, so we needed to fill our stomachs first.
"Lily. What do you want to do today?"
Lily thought for a moment, then answered.
"I heard there's an inn here with the absolute best facilities and service. I'd like to go there once."
"Uh… huh?"
An inn?
On weather this beautiful, an inn?
Considering how much she normally loved just lying in bed with me, it wasn't completely incomprehensible…
But still. On a special day like this, spending the whole time stuck in an inn felt a little… off, didn't it?
I looked at Lily and started trying to gently persuade her.
"Mmm… an inn would be nice, but wouldn't walking around outside together be good too? A-and unnie even did her makeup for once…"
I normally hated makeup with a passion, but today was Lily's graduation. Wanting to make my adorable little sister look good, I'd asked Dania for help just this once.
Once she got her hands on me, my face really did change.
The makeup she'd done emphasized a natural look.
From a distance you could barely tell I was wearing any, and yet it still transformed the whole atmosphere.
A faint pink flush bloomed over skin so pale it was almost white, giving my face a lively glow.
Lengthened lashes and lips tinted a deeper cherry-red lent a subtle, alluring edge.
I still clearly remembered the students and parents — and even the professors — sneaking glances at me at the academy.
It had been pretty overwhelming. But if Lily liked it that much, I didn't care at all.
"I know. About the makeup. That's why I feel like I'm going crazy right now."
"Uh… huh? Going crazy…?"
"It means unnie is that pretty right now! You're pretty enough without it, though."
Lily smiled sweetly as she praised me, and something warm and ticklish fluttered in my chest.
I looked at her with hopeful eyes.
"So we're playing outside today?"
"Still no. We're going to the inn."
"Ah… okay… really?"
Well. If Lily was happy, that was what mattered, right?
That was what I told myself.
"Wow… it really is amazing."
I was standing inside the inn Lily had reserved.
As expected of an inn in the Empire's foremost city — scenery I'd never seen before filled my eyes.
Clean, luxurious-looking furnishings. A bathroom so large you could almost call it a bathhouse. And a massive bed that could easily sleep five without feeling cramped.
If they handed out star ratings even in another world, five stars would have been stamped on the front door without a second's hesitation.
"But… it looks expensive… how did you even book this?"
Lily shouldn't have had the money to reserve a place like this…
"Iris reserved it for me. She asked me to fulfill her dream in her place."
Iris?
If it was Iris, then surely—
"Ah. Unnie might not know who Iris is? She's the Saintess."
One of Robin's companions. Saintess Iris.
Among the women around Robin, the only one who had never shown any interest in him.
And she had reserved this place for Lily.
Had the two of them grown quite close at the academy?
Besides — Iris's dream?
I didn't remember anything like that in the original story.
"W-wow, our Lily even knows the Saintess? That's amazing…!"
"Hehe. It's nothing."
Lily walked over to the door, locked it with a solid click, and slipped the key into her own pocket.
"Did you know, unnie?"
"Hmm? Know what?"
Lily smiled sweetly as she spoke to me.
"What's special about this inn is that there's a lock on the inside too."
Something about her voice felt strangely quiet and empty.
"Ah… oh? That is pretty special…"
On the inside… was there really a need for a lock?
Maybe it was for security?
Well. I'd heard the more locks the better, so there was probably a reason.
"Right? Oh, and also — I reserved this place for a whole week."
"I se— wait, what?! A week?!"
I couldn't help jumping at her words.
A whole week.
I was sure we'd agreed that playing together would just be for one day…?
"Food and water and everything will all be delivered, so you don't have to worry."
Lily said it so casually.
I couldn't grasp what she was thinking at all.
"Th-that's not the problem. A whole week, Lily. Dania unnie will be waiting for u—"
"Unnie already knows! That we'll be here for a week."
"Wh… what?"
Dania unnie already knew? So I was the only one who hadn't been told?
"Why didn't you tell me ahead of time…?"
"Because I was worried unnie would run away."
"…What?"
I couldn't understand what she was saying at all.
Run away. What possible reason would I have to run away from Lily?
"Lily. I really don't get what you're talki—"
"Hera unnie."
The quiet yet overwhelming pressure in the way she called my name made my body flinch and tremble for a second.
"Exactly one hundred thirty-two."
"Huh…?"
"The Wish Coupons unnie promised she would grant no matter what. There are one hundred thirty-two of them."
The Wish Coupons I'd given her one by one whenever she helped with monster subjugation or achieved something.
I had sworn I would grant them without fail.
Since it was Lily, I'd assumed they'd be light little requests and let it slide…
So why did that huge number suddenly sound so terrifying?
"Y-yeah… that's right… is there something you want…?"
"Yes! I'm planning to use at least fifty of them over the week."
An inexplicable chill started making my body tremble little by little.
She was still my little sister — cute and lovable beyond words.
So why did I feel this kind of pressure from her eyes?
Lily glanced once at my trembling form.
Then she smiled gently and pulled something from her clothes.
"Unnie. I don't want to use drugs for my first experience with you."
A small glass vial filled with pink liquid.
Lily set the vial carefully on the table and continued.
"But you know, unnie. Of course this would never happen, but."
She slowly walked up to me and wrapped me in a deep embrace.
"Unnie, who even swore she'd grant them no matter what, would never do this, but."
"Li… Lily…"
"If you say you won't grant my wishes… then I'll have no choice but to use that drug."
"Lily… what on earth is th—"
I couldn't finish the sentence.
Because Lily's lips sealed over mine.
Chup— chup—
Light, almost like a touch. Lily's lips meeting mine.
It was a kiss we'd shared countless times before.
No — compared to the kisses we'd been doing lately, it was nothing at all.
And yet my heart was pounding wildly from a kiss so light it barely counted.
"Unnie. I love you. More than anything else in this world. Everything I'm doing right now is for both unnie and me, so please understand."
She pointed at the bed with a blissful smile.
"This is my first wish, unnie."
"Take off your clothes and lie face-down on the bed."