A Date with My Sister? Absolutely Not
I stared at Seria, my expression flat. “First of all, Noel is my little sister. What the hell do you mean, ‘date’?”
What kind of insane person dates their own sister? And back at the mausoleum earlier—if Berna hadn’t shown up, I would’ve completely lost it during that hero party talk and yanked out a handful of hair. So honestly, I’d been pretty damn calm about it all things considered.
“But right now you’re Olivia, right? You’re not related anymore.”
“Olivia’s great-grandmother is also Noel’s great-grandmother. No matter how you slice it, we share blood.”
“Wait, isn’t that basically unrelated at that point?”
Yeah. Basically unrelated. We’re basically unrelated, but we still share the same great-grandmother. How the hell does that justify dating between her descendants?
“And besides, two women going on a date? Does that even make sense?”
“Then would you rather date a man?”
“No, that’s not—”
That wasn’t it either, but right now I couldn’t come up with a logical counter. Wait, why was the entire premise that I was even going to date someone?
“Objection!” Seria suddenly declared. “I’ve been in love with Lord Noah for years! Don’t I deserve some kind of compensation?”
Compensation, huh. Yeah, that sounds nice. But you should be asking Noah for that, not me. I’m Olivia now, remember?
“Oh my. I am Olivia. Noah? He was a wonderful man who defeated the Demon King, but that’s not me, is it?”
I am Olivia Lapa Ashtar. So this has nothing to do with me, right?
“Ugh. Women go on dates with each other all the time even if they’re not in a relationship, you know?”
Seria stared at me for a long moment. How annoying. Who asked you to have a one-sided crush on me anyway?
“Come on, don’t sulk. What would we even do on a date?”
“Obviously we’d raid an ancient tomb together.”
“We’re not grave robbers. What kind of date is that?”
I’m not crazy enough to go tomb-raiding for a date.
“Then let’s take down the Third Legion together! A war date should be fine, right?!”
“Hmm. That one I’ll actually think about.”
If we could strike the Third Legion fast and pull out, her help would actually be useful. In other words, joining the war. If that happened, I wouldn’t have to look at that smug emperor’s face or that bastard Aslan’s ugly mug.
“Really?!”
“Yeah.”
“You won’t take it back later, right? Pinky promise?”
She rolled her eyes like she was testing me, trying to read my intentions. Did she really think I’d fall for something that obvious?
“As long as you don’t start desecrating corpses again, it’s fine.”
“Really? Should I pack us lunches then?”
Who the hell packs lunches for a battlefield? Is she out of her mind?
“Do whatever you want.”
“And while we’re at it, can I also capture that arrogant Berna bitch who tried to seduce you, Lady Olivia?”
Seduce? What seduction? That’s a massive exaggeration. Still, if she actually managed to catch her, I could give her some kind of reward. Assuming she pulled off an impossible mission, of course.
I smiled wickedly at her.
“If you break both of Berna’s legs and deliver her to me—”
“Then?”
“I’ll grant you anything you want.”
Not that you’ll ever be able to do it.
“Wait, for real? I can actually catch her?”
“I keep telling you it’s impossible. You.”
If you could take down one of the Four Heavenly Kings, anyone could. Even if she’s a candidate for Magic Tower Master, she’s still way out of her league. And unless Berna just stands there and lets her, it’s not happening. Especially not after I already blasted that woman with my mana bullet.
“If I catch her, you’ll really do anything?”
“Sure. Not that it’s possible.”
The reason Seria uses those cheap-looking teddy bear puppets instead of high-class summons is simple. Berna attacks from long range with black magic and the Authority of Corruption. Seria’s puppets have the absolute worst compatibility against her. Despite that flaw, she’s still the next Tower Master candidate. But against the Four Heavenly Kings? Terrible matchup. If anyone, maybe Pector.
“You’re underestimating me too much. I’m telling you it’s possible.”
“Fine, whatever. But let me warn you in advance—don’t fight too much with Kise.”
“Is Kise my romantic rival?”
Crack!
Since I couldn’t slam her head into the wall, I settled for a firm knuckle to her skull.
“You have an obligation to listen to me until the end.”
“I understand. You mean I shouldn’t fight with the Magic Tower, right?”
“Exactly. I need to join the Magic Division.”
It was already common knowledge among the Ashtars that Seria was basically my close aide. If she started clashing with Kise from the Magic Division, my own position would get awkward.
“What the hell kind of nonsense is that? You’re abandoning me to join the Magic Division?”
Hey, what do you want me to do about it? I’d love to join the Magic Tower too, but I can’t, can I?
“It’s not like I can join the Magic Tower either!”
“In that case, I guess I’ll just have to abuse my authority.”
“Please don’t. Aren’t you already hated enough?”
If she keeps acting this recklessly, the old farts in the Magic Tower are going to despise her even more.
“I can just round up all the old farts in the Tower and replace them with teddy bears.”
“Wow, it’d turn into a teddy bear shop. Stop it.”
The kids would love that, though.
“By the way, didn’t you bring some things back from Eldacrad’s mausoleum?”
“Besides the diary, there are a few other mementos.”
There were quite a variety of items, including grimoires. I’d stored them all in my subspace.
“Shall we take a look?”
“No, why would I take a dead person’s belongings…”
“But Lady Olivia, you’re his granddaughter. What’s wrong with a granddaughter taking her grandfather’s keepsakes?”
Huh. She had a point. But was there really a reason to take a dead man’s things? I hadn’t shown them to the current head of House Ashtar yet. Still, maybe I should claim them first. Or maybe not. After all the trouble Eldacrad put me through, didn’t I deserve this much? He had entrusted them to me specifically so I could crush Berna. Plus, there seemed to be some magic-related items among them.
“There are definitely some things related to magic…”
“Exactly. So they’re even more necessary.”
“Eldacrad’s magic?”
“Honestly, aren’t you curious too?”
I was. Since Seria brought it up, I figured I might as well check them out.
Eldacrad’s pocket watch and diary.
Along with various other items.
The grimoires in particular are quite appealing.
Once we entered the room, I opened Eldacrad’s case.
“Eldacrad’s pocket watch and diary.”
There were all sorts of other things too. The grimoires especially caught my eye.
“This looks like a grimoire.”
“Is it something used when casting magic?”
There are two main types of grimoires. As everyone knows, the first is a book containing theories, research, and knowledge about magic. The second is a combat grimoire made specifically for mages in battle. These contain various magical formulas designed to help mages cast spells more smoothly. Depending on the formulas inscribed, they can amplify magic power, increase casting speed, or minimize mana consumption.
At first glance, one might think the more formulas the better, but that’s not the case at all. The more formulas, the thicker and heavier the book becomes. For mages who need mobility and often fight at long range, that’s extremely inefficient. Plus, too many overlapping formulas can cause spells to fail.
That’s why expensive grimoires are made by skilled mages who painstakingly inscribe high-level formulas with true craftsmanship. They use fewer pages and never cause casting failures.
The grimoire I held in my hand was exactly that kind.
“But wait… Eldacrad wasn’t a mage, was he?”
“Maybe it was just part of his collection?”
That would make sense for Eldacrad. He was the lord who led House Ashtar to its golden age. It wasn’t uncommon for nobles to collect grimoires.
“Hmm. At this level…”
It would definitely fetch a high price. Each page contained only a single formula. Normally, expensive grimoires have fewer pages but pack multiple complex formulas onto each one.
“This is quite expensive. Even the Magic Tower probably couldn’t make something this meticulous. Look at this—every detail is handmade. They even applied triple coating over the formulas to prevent them from fading. Wow, this would be impossible to price.”
“Is it that impressive?”
Even though I’d never used a grimoire before, it did look pretty amazing. Was it really that special?
“You might not understand since you don’t use grimoires, Lady Olivia, but this is incredible.”
Why was she spitting so much while talking?
“Then maybe you should use it.”
“Do I need to?”
“Ah, right.”
Her teddy bears were handmade too. There was no need for her to inscribe formulas one by one. Besides, she had no real reason to need a grimoire. She really was worthy of being the next Tower Master.
“But wouldn’t you need one, Lady Olivia? Right now, to use your mana a bit more stably, a grimoire would help.”
It wouldn’t be bad for controlling a body fused with mana.
“For me? My arm’s fine though?”
My arm was perfectly fine right now. In fact, it felt more alive than ever. When I absorbed Pector’s sword with sword magic, I’d consumed quite a lot of Noel’s mana too.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Magic itself isn’t a problem.”
“Try using sword magic. I heard from that washboard earlier. You turned Pector’s sword into a mana blade. That could be an issue.”
What could possibly be the problem? Seria even set up a barrier around the room. How ridiculous. Did she think I was going to unleash some kind of authority or something?
“Huh. This is…”
The moment I activated sword magic, an ominous black aura began to spread. I tried to conceal it with mana, but the amount of demonic energy was no joke. Because of the mana fusion, it was actually turning my mana into demonic energy instead. Still, it wasn’t a real problem. As long as I could circulate my mana properly, I could control this much.
Looked like I still needed to be careful with my arm for a while. When I needed to use magic, a grimoire would probably be necessary. Using one would let me filter out the demonic energy without needing ultra-precise control.
“Looking at that body of yours, it seems you caused quite a big scene at the mausoleum. Lady Olivia, you mustn’t forget that you are the young lady of House Ashtar.”
Who doesn’t know that? That’s exactly why I’ve been trying to act as carefully as possible.
“I’m aware.”
“For now, it seems you’ll need a grimoire to cover that unstable power.”
“I suppose so.”
I nodded at Seria’s words.
“Two of the Four Heavenly Kings are women. Corruption based on love, hatred, and a desire for revenge. You know that, don’t you, Lady Olivia?”
Evil and corruption always appear when a person’s heart grows weak, eroding them from within. That’s how demons were born. That’s how the Four Heavenly Kings came to be. The triggers vary, but love and revenge make for particularly good prey.
Among the Four Heavenly Kings, Pector is a wild card who does whatever he wants, and Seto has existed since long ago. Berna went mad with love and became so corrupted she couldn’t even recognize the man she loved. As for Clanice… I don’t know the exact reason, but given that she’s an eccentric mad scientist, the answer is obvious.
Right now, Seria was worried about the remaining part of Olivia still inside me.
“I know.”
“Just looking at the Four Heavenly Kings makes it obvious. Both Berna and Clanice are complete psychopaths.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t fall for something like this.”
She was making such a fuss. The very fact that I could wield this sword freely was proof that I had completely made it my own. There was no way I would turn into some Olivia of Despair. That would just overlap with Pector’s position. There was no opening for something like that to creep into me. That was also why I didn’t kill the Four Heavenly Kings.
Seria really worried too much.