The Eldest Sister Comes Home!
“Here, if you just add the spell formula like this—simply on top—it boosts the firepower and precision.”
“Mm-hmm… Got it…”
“Yes. And you don’t need to obsess over imbuing it with the dark attribute. What we’re doing right now is just… a taste of it, so there’s no need to cling so tightly.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Time had flown by since the debutante ball.
My reputation from that event? Untouchable—a rose perched atop a thunderbolt. Not that it was surprising. Plenty of people had seen the princess mark me as her own, and everyone had witnessed my mom swinging her sword at her without a second thought. After seeing her nearly cleave the entire hall in two with a single stroke, who would dare approach me carelessly?
But… why did Mom do that back then?
I slowly rewound the memory of that day. What was it? I’d wandered in a daze from a nightmare, following the light, and ended up in Emperor Ashtoret’s office. I’d acted all spoiled with her, and it worked—I even ended up sleeping beside her. She kept calling me “Young Master Kairel,” which felt awkward, so I’d begged her to just call me “Kael.” Nestled in that warm embrace, I’d drifted off to dreamland. When I woke, Mom was standing at the bedroom door, staring down at me.
…Ahem. Mom left me first, so I just went to the nearest adult who’d hold me, right? Yeah, that’s it.
I felt a little guilty toward Mom… but no regrets. I’d desperately hugged her waist as she drew her sword with sudden killing intent, smothering her cheeks in kisses until she finally relented. Looking back now, it was actually a fond memory.
…Had it really been four years already?
“Little bro. Move that spell formula a bit to the side. You’re wasting resources like that. You’re already exhausted from mana drain.”
“O-okay! Think it’ll work if I do it like Serdi sis says?”
“Of course it will. I told you—I’m an early academy grad. Unlike some people over there.”
“Picking a fight out of nowhere? Hmph, but you’re trying so hard to help with what you can. Kael already has his tutor— what’s the point of you chiming in?”
“Oh please, you only teach him history and tactics ‘cause that’s all you know, and you think I don’t notice how you sulk about it?”
“Ha, haha! Wanna test it, sis?!”
“Bring it! Time to resorted the family hierarchy!”
They’re fighting again…
Four whole years. I’d been nine at the debutante ball, and now I was thirteen. It felt oddly surreal that both Serdi sis and Elania sis were full adults now. Something about them both being “adults” made them seem so grown-up and cool.
And… in just a year, I’d be heading to the Academy too. It was the natural course of things, so I nodded along without complaint. I couldn’t exactly skip the same academy Mom and my eldest sis had attended, let alone the one my other sisters had gone through. Lately, I’d been getting private lessons from Hagol on the basics and what I’d learn there.
But the weirdest part? I’d barely grown at all…
Why? I didn’t picky-eat my veggies, chugged milk like crazy—why hadn’t I shot up? Why was I still basically the same size as four years ago?
…Dwelling on it made the world tint yellow with injustice. I wanted to grow tall too. Hmph.
“…You two. Master Kael is studying right now, isn’t he? If you keep making a racket, he won’t be able to focus.”
Hagol watched the bickering pair, tapping his skull and slowly shaking his head. He let out a sigh, hardened his expression, and spoke.
“No, she started it!”
“No way—she’s not even teaching Kael, but she can’t stop hovering like it’s some brother complex!”
“You? You don’t teach him anything, but you stick to his side pretending to know a bit of magic? Anyone’d think you were the tutor.”
“What?! Nothing’s off-limits with you! You little bi—ahem…”
Serdi sis’s eyes trembled. Her crimson irises flicked toward me before she covered her mouth with one hand, coughing awkwardly. Elania sis smirked, leaning in with a grin.
“Nya~! I’m a fierce hound! Woof woof! Arf!”
“Ugh, you mad dog! Can’t even curse properly with Kael here!”
“Huh? Were you cursing at sis?”
“N-no, nothing… Why would I curse…”
“Pfft…”
“……”
Hagol watched silently. Then his body shuddered, and he smoothly traced a spell formula in the air. A massive, translucent blue hand burst from the void, grabbing Serdi sis and Elania sis by the waist and hoisting them up.
“Whoa…!”
“Eek…!”
“…I did warn you. Master Kael is studying. No more disturbances?”
Hagol’s voice chilled the air, his eye sockets flashing purple. Each word dripped with barely contained fury. At least… there was no killing intent.
“I-it’s fine, Hagol… I like having my sisters around way more than studying quietly…”
“…Sigh. Young master. True study requires a calm, quiet space for efficiency. We can’t teach you in this chaotic mess.”
“Aww~ But I’m super good at studying anyway! You’ll keep teaching me, right, Hagol?”
“Young master… Sigh. Your foundations are so solid we’ve advanced to advanced topics, but review is still essential. You understand?”
“Mm-hmm! If you stay by my side, I’ll study super hard!”
“…Ahem. Very well.”
With a rustle, Hagol dispersed the mana hand—my aegyo had worked. Freed from restraint, Serdi sis and Elania sis coughed awkwardly, shuffling back to their seats with sheepish faces. I stifled a giggle, my lips twitching up, then alternated between their laps as we resumed the lesson.
……
“…Ah, Master Kael. And Miss Serdi, Miss Elania. I have something to inform you of.”
“Hm?”
We’d continued for a few more minutes, now on break as I nibbled macarons sent by Princess Crois from the Imperial Central District.
Even four years later, we still exchanged letters via messenger bird. …Well, “still” meaning basically every day, but no big deal.
Mom sometimes asked what the letters said, unfolded them herself, or even called in decryption experts. Once, an actual cipher popped up and shocked even me. I never learned the contents—Mom and Hagol stonewalled it.
After that, Mom, Hagol, and even the family chefs started taste-testing everything Princess Crois sent before handing it over.
…Was she really feeding me stunting cookies or something? I’d even had dumb thoughts like that.
Anyway, lost in random musings—
“Lately, you may have heard talk of monstrosities emerging from dungeons or swarming from outside.”
“Oh, yeah. But ‘monstrosities’? Aren’t they basically just demons?”
“…Master Kael. Say that at the Academy or anywhere public, and your reputation will suffer greatly. It’s no different from telling a human, ‘Aren’t chimps and humans basically the same?’”
“Ah… Right… Sorry…”
“No need. Even young demons sometimes hold that view. Correct it now, and it’s fine.”
I’d mixed them up. No “monstrosities” in the game, after all.
This world was one vast fantasy realm. Now my precious home, but it always sought balance. Human-demon relations weren’t perfectly smooth, but on the surface, it was an era of peace.
So these new things—near-identical to demons—were cropping up to shatter that peace.
“But… why bring it up?”
Hagol wasn’t one for idle chatter. I tilted my head curiously.
“With these dungeons appearing, the hardliners are rearing their heads more boldly.”
“Th-that’s Mom’s job, though…”
“Did you know? We’ve had fifteen years of peace. When Miss Serdi and Miss Elania were born, it wasn’t even peace time yet.”
“W-well, true…”
“No world has eternal peace. You’re young, so it’s hard to grasp, but even non-hardliners resist sharing rights they once held exclusively with former enemies—both humans and demons.”
True enough. Otherwise, we wouldn’t hear of demons executed for trying to prey on humans, or humans axed for refusing scaly customers.
Forcing incompatible races together bred backlash inevitably.
“Thus, the Empire judges a major hardliner faction is gaining power. Various officers and figures are gathering. And…”
Hagol’s expression hardened as he met my eyes.
“…Miss Gloria has retired.”
“What?!”
“W-wait, what did you say?!”
“Hm?”
Gloria sis… Gloria Elion. My eldest sister. Big sis.
But why…?
“Wh-why would sis…? Ah, no… D-does that mean she’s… coming home…?”
“…Yes, Miss Elania.”
“N-no way…”
“What… It’s sudden, sure. But Gloria sis retiring…”
Contrasting reactions. Elania sis shuddered in terror at big sis’s return, while Serdi sis calmly nodded.
“…Well, her hating the battlefield makes no sense. Something happened, huh?”
“…I’m surprised too, but it’s by her own request.”
“Oh? Figures for her. Probably bottled it up solo till she snapped.”
“The military calls it temporary retirement, but if she refuses recall, it’ll likely become permanent.”
“Still, youngest-ever brigadier general is brigadier general—her skills are top-tier.”
Serdi sis nodded intriguedly, seeming to know big sis well. Meanwhile, I sidled over to trembling Elania sis, grasping her quivering hand and tilting my head.
“Sis? What’s wrong?”
“It’s… uh… Big sis Gloria coming back home… H-huff…”
“?”
“Hey, it’s just the eldest coming home—why freak out?”
“N-no…! How are you so chill, sis?”
“Me? Hm.”
Serdi sis shrugged nonchalantly, chin in hand.
“No reason to be scared.”
“Gah…!”
What? What was this? If both feared her, I’d get it—“scary sis.” But polar opposites? I tilted my head blankly.