Chapter 75
Time had passed, and six days had gone by since the welcome banquet for the Atara delegation. The day before the hunting tournament, the Crisis family was gathered on the mansion garden terrace for tea together, for the first time in ages.
"Shushu. I have something for you."
"Pardon?"
I set down my teacup, staring blankly at Kal, who cleared his throat awkwardly with an uncharacteristically shy expression. Tilting my head in confusion, I watched as he cleared his throat again and pulled a small box from his pocket.
"Tomorrow's the hunting tournament, right? So I prepared a token."
The word "token" made Aria, who had been sipping her tea demurely, and Kaiser's eyes flash sharply. They whipped their heads toward Kal with audible swishes, their faces etched with dismay.
"Aren't you competing, Kal?"
"Nah. Not really into hunting, and anyway, you'll win it."
I scratched my head at Kal's unshakable confidence in my victory. He smirked at my embarrassment, then opened the box and took out the gift.
"Figured you wouldn't use a handkerchief even if I gave you one. And flashy accessories would just annoy you, so I went with a simple ring."
Inside was a thin silver band, utterly plain without any decoration. It might be too understated for nobility, but for me, who preferred simplicity, it was perfect.
"Just giving you jewelry felt too formal, so I enchanted it with a spell to regulate mana circulation. You can wear it every day. Mind if I put it on you?"
Kal handed me the ring and grinned. More than the ring itself, I was touched by the time he'd put into preparing it. I nodded happily and extended my right hand.
"No, your right hand's the one you wield your sword with. Might be uncomfortable, so why not the left?"
"Oh, yeah, you're right."
At his urging, I switched to my left hand. Kal took it gently with a bright smile and slid the ring onto my finger. Whether it had a sizing spell or not, the band, which had looked a bit loose, fit perfectly as soon as it settled in.
Hmm, but... the position...
I blinked down at the ring now on my left ring finger. Glancing sideways at Kal, I saw him beaming proudly.
"There've been a lot of flies buzzing around you lately. If any stick, just flash the ring and say you've got a boyfriend."
"Got it."
I gave a small smile at his doting plea. I had plenty of friends, but no one approached me with romantic intentions. Still, his worry was adorable, so I nodded readily.
Bang!
Just as warm glances passed between Kal and me, the tea table jolted with a loud crash. Startled, I turned toward the noise.
"No manners at all, brother dear."
There stood Aria, fist planted trembling on the table, gritting her teeth in a smile.
"We agreed to prepare hunting tokens for Shushu without overlapping, didn't we? I clearly said three days ago that I'd prepare the ring..."
"I've been thinking about a ring for a week already. Oops. Did she really prepare one too? What now? I've already claimed Shushu's left ring finger."
"You little—!"
Aria shot to her feet, eyes bulging at Kal's brazen grin. Her sky-blue eyes flashed icily, and a magic circle activated in her hand in an instant. Kal, lounging with legs crossed, activated his own with a infuriating smirk.
"Dueling your magic teacher with magic? What a disobedient student."
"Acting all high and mighty just 'cause you taught me a little... Forgot you're relying on my healing for your research?"
I sighed at the two, poised to hurl meteors at each other. Their squabbles used to be just verbal, but ever since Aria started learning magic, the scale had escalated.
'I'm going to get strong now. I don't want to just be protected by you anymore, sis. I'll get strong enough to protect you.'
Aria had lived her whole life with a body that could give out at any moment. Not long after arriving at the ducal residence, during a picnic outing, she realized she had a normal body that didn't tire even after running freely—and she wept for a long time before declaring that.
She vowed to become strong enough no one could ignore her. Aria pondered carefully how to build her power. She even tried learning the sword from me once, but gave up after realizing she had no talent for it after just a short time.
To be blunt, Aria had zero aptitude for physical pursuits. After trying various paths, she settled on magic of all things.
The trigger for her learning magic was utterly ridiculous. During one of her usual fights with Kal, she got mad at him pranking her with spells and unconsciously cast one herself—awakening to her talent for the first time.
'I hate saying anything nice about that guy—it feels like thorns in my mouth—but... Aria Crisis is a genius through and through. Casting magic isn't simple. You have to memorize complex rune formulas, understand the principles, and have enough mana to deploy it. Learning even one spell takes ages. But Aria Crisis... In the brief moment I deployed my circle, she memorized and comprehended the entire structure. Without even realizing it. Damn it. Why's she good at magic too? So annoying.'
Even Kal, hailed as a magic genius, said that much.
On her end, Aria described him like this:
'Lately, I've been learning magic from that jerk Kal—no, brother Kal. He clings to sis like a leech all day, so I figured he had some use... Turns out he does magic. Makes me wanna fireball his smug face when he shows off, but... he's a damn good teacher. Ugh, admitting that makes me wanna puke...'
'Aria, come on. At least he's teaching you. He acted like he wouldn't.'
'...Tch. Fine. At first, he whined he wouldn't teach me if his life depended on it. That cocky little—er, cute brat. In exchange for teaching, I agreed to help with his research.'
'Research?'
'He's working on infusing healing power into artifacts. Probably so sis can carry portable ones for her frequent training injuries. Hmph. Bet he's jealous I heal her every night. If he's envious, he should try being a fairy hybrid too... See how tough essence deficiency is.'
'Aria.'
'...Fine. Anyway, I'm learning magic in exchange for helping with his research. It's killing two birds—one stone: practice healing while studying magic.'
After her body fully healed and she awakened her healing powers naturally, Aria had been diligently practicing sword training herself lately, healing my frequent wounds every night. Even while spewing venom, her ultimate assessment wasn't bad, so their relationship seemed to be improving—slowly.
"You think you can claim sis's left ring finger? In your dreams! Give it up nicely."
"And if I don't? Gonna fight me with magic? Don't delude yourself into thinking you've surpassed me just 'cause you've got some talent. You're eons away."
...Very slowly.
I sighed, watching them shove their faces inches apart, on the verge of ripping each other's throats out.
They're both way too mature usually, but stick 'em together and they turn into kids.
Aria had always been remarkably calm and clever since childhood. Her genius intellect combined with harsh circumstances made her never throw a tantrum—an adult child.
Kal was inhumanly rational and adept at everything, so they were both overly mature.
It's nice seeing their childish sides sometimes... but now they're using magic in fights. If it gets too heated, it could get dangerous.
'What the hell...? You two okay? Did you eat a bomb or something?'
'No, just...'
'Fought with this idiot a bit.'
I frowned, recalling how they'd recently brawled over a disagreement at the magic tower and returned covered in wounds, still on good terms. If I left them, they'd start fighting for real. Kaiser, leisurely sipping tea across from me and spectating, showed no intention of intervening, so I had to step in.
"Enough, both of you."
At my sigh-laced command, Kal and Aria flinched and dispelled their magic circles. They whipped their heads toward me, eyes blazing.
"Sis, tell him! You'll toss his ring and wear mine on your left ring finger, right?"
"Ignore him. Keep wearing mine!"
Why are they both so obsessed with the left ring finger?
To me, who thought it didn't matter where I wore them, it was a baffling debate. Blinking under their insistent stares, I extended my hand to Aria.
"Aria. Wanna give me your token now?"
She blinked, then pulled a small case from her pocket and handed it over. Inside was a silver ring embedded with a tiny opal.
They're both so cute.
I chuckled, alternating glances between Kal's ring and hers. Knowing they'd both agonized over gifts for me made them unbearably lovable. I rolled Aria's ring in my palm, then slid it onto my left ring finger beside Kal's.
"Thanks, both of you."
I beamed at my ring finger, now bearing two bands.
"Nearly had a heart attack. Feeling good, so I'll let it slide this once."
"Should've just keeled over. Sis likes it, so I'm backing off. But not next time."
Kal and Aria stared at me intently, then turned to each other and shook hands stiffly—without actually touching skin, just mimicking the motion in some bizarre ritual. As their odd exchange continued, Kaiser, who had been sitting quietly opposite me, smiled and rose.
"Then it's my turn."
He approached regally, holding a box half my height in one hand.
"I wanted to give you something too."
Kaiser knelt on one knee beside my chair, gazing up at me. I widened my eyes at the sudden gesture.
"F-Father, you're competing in the tournament, aren't you? So this isn't a token...?"
"Exactly why it's a gift, not a token. Can't have me sitting this out."
He smiled faintly but warmly—a new expression I'd never imagined seeing before, but one growing familiar. I'd changed since becoming part of the Crisis family. I'd learned to express long-suppressed emotions, to accept kindness with gratitude instead of suspicion, and to embrace happiness without anxiety.
As I'd changed, so had Kaiser. The excessively taciturn man had started conversing a bit more, even if only with the household—and instead of staring at me blankly, he smiled.
The miracle of changing because of someone, and someone changing because of you—it was wondrous in itself.