Elf Sisters and Big Sister (6)
The giantess revealed her true name as she formed a contract with Evni. Krista, the Earth Herald.
"What a pretty name..."
"Evni is pretty too."
After exchanging warm words with her contractor, Krista turned to tease Lirota, who was hiding in a crack between the rocks.
"Kyahahaha!! Hey! Look at you! I was wondering why your domain's power had weakened. So you've been reduced to a slave out here?"
"Grrr..."
"I checked the mana traces and saw you'd been causing a ruckus here. That's what you get for being cocky instead of just quietly making a contract. Tsk tsk. This is why you always lose to me. Don't go around calling yourself my rival. It's embarrassing."
"I'll kill you!!"
Lirota flew into a rage, but bound by the contract, all he could do was shout.
"Kyahahahaha — hah, haah..."
Krista laughed herself into exhaustion and flopped onto the ground. Her chest rose and fell with each breath, looking truly delectable.
Evni, nestled in the valley of Krista's cleavage, bounced her hips.
"Softer than Mommy..."
"Evni. You mustn't say things like that so carelessly."
"Why...?"
I saw it. Cheonsol glanced down at her own chest, then smiled bitterly. Then she looked at the elf family and let out a sigh of relief.
It was only because Cheonsol kept hers wrapped in bandages. She was by no means small, but next to a giantess she looked that way.
But our pride and joy! Lady Sophia had an even bigger chest than Krista. A woman less than half her size sporting a larger bust... Truly an inhuman body balance. Only a goddess could pull off those massive breasts.
"Evni got a spirit too! Congrats!"
"Thanks..."
"Of course! Lan-lan-i is a good big sister, so she congratulates her little sister!"
"I'm..."
"I said I'm the big sister!"
The topic that had been buried while Evni's spirit contract was underway came up again. They were going to keep bringing this up every chance they got. Wouldn't it be better to settle the ranking once and for all right now?
Sophia seemed to share my thoughts, because she came over and whispered.
"Yohan. Shouldn't we decide who's the big sister? Otherwise it looks like they'll keep fighting forever."
"I was thinking the same thing. But the criteria are a bit fuzzy."
If we went by who hatched from their egg first, Lan-lan-i would clearly be the eldest. But if we went by birth order, Evni would be the eldest. When Evrande laid two eggs, I'd taken the first one that came out.
"Lan-lan-i is the big sister!"
"I'm the big sister!"
"I..."
"My contractor says she's the big sister."
"Tha..."
"You're welcome, right? Want to stay in my arms a little longer?"
"No..."
Evni toddled over and snuggled right into my arms. Wondering why she wasn't joining the big-sister competition, I looked down — and she met my eyes with a happy little grin.
"Our pretty Evni. How can you be this adorable?"
"Hehe..."
"Aww, what a good girl."
The moment I stroked her hair, the other kids came running over too.
"Lan-lan-i too!"
"Me too, please!"
Unfortunately I only had two arms, so I had to take turns. I stroked all three heads at high speed and sent out a silent SOS.
Evrande, watching with envious eyes, said something pointless.
"Elves decide who's the older sister by birth order, but I'm not sure how humans do it."
"Humans do it the same way."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. Really."
A truly worthless conversation. I could feel a few of my precious brain cells dying off.
"On Earth there's a saying: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. We're in the Divine Realm, so how about following the gods' rules?"
"That makes sense. Master. How do the gods determine seniority?"
"Ahem!"
Sophia squared her shoulders and answered.
"According to the Minion Training Guide, you go by age, and if that's unclear, you go by talent. Have the three of them battle it out and the strongest..."
I shot Sophia a look of pure contempt as she enthusiastically explained. You're seriously telling kids who were just born to beat the crap out of each other?
"Yohan. Is Lady Sophia a bit... cold-blooded?"
"This lady finds it a perfectly fine method. Why the fuss? Even children must abide by the law of the strong."
The elves stared at Cheonsol in shock. I was surprised too, but after a moment's thought, it made sense.
A Vampir's body temperature is lower than a human's. Naturally their blood runs cold too. So she and Sophia were both cold-blooded types — no wonder they got along so well.
"Mad Demon seems to understand as well."
"Yohan?"
"I think there's some kind of misunderstanding here. Anyway, what's the point of us deciding among ourselves? We should ask the kids what they want."
Even if I just decided for them, they wouldn't complain right now — but once puberty hit, who knew? If the ones stuck as little sisters rebelled with "Mister, why did you make me the little sister back then? I'm so mad I'm running away," how shredded would my heart be?
"Mad Demon! You've gone pale! Don't tell me you overexerted yourself fighting Lirota?"
"Want me to punish him? There's an elven secret technique for disciplining disobedient earth spirits!"
"Lirota! Get over here and kneel!"
Looking as mournful as a cow being led to slaughter, Lirota came and knelt before me.
"What did I even do..."
"Ah-ah! Speak properly and politely!"
"Whatever it is, I was wrong."
"Gwahahahaha. Oh my belly. Oof, my belly!"
I missed the window to say it wasn't Lirota's fault.
"Bad rock!"
"Bad spirit!"
"Bad..."
The kids were having a blast beating up Lirota, so I decided not to set the record straight. Watching those hearty punches put my mind at ease.
Taking after me, their punches were nice and solid. And since Lirota kept shifting the rock away from wherever they hit, there was no risk of them getting hurt.
"Eek!"
Mid-punch, Lan-lan-i bit down on Lirota's forearm. I grabbed her in a panic.
"You can't just eat anything! No! Bad!"
"It's yummy!"
Lan-lan-i swallowed Lirota's blood without a care and beamed. Cheonsol, who'd been fretting over Lan-lan-i alongside me, quietly slipped away — then bit Lirota herself.
"My precious blood..."
"Lan-lan-i wasn't lying. This is a wondrous elixir."
Dohoyo explained.
"Of course. High-ranking spirit blood is a rare material used in crafting high-grade items and potions."
Rare material? The craftsman in me stirred, itching to make something.
"How much blood can we harvest? Can we take some every day?"
"Absolutely not. A spirit's blood is a critical component of the spirit body. You can't just take it by sinking your fangs in, either."
"Lirota, be quiet. Lady Krista, if you would."
"About five drops a day? Take any more and Lirota's rank will drop. Even as a slave, it's better to work him while he's still a high-ranking spirit, right?"
A shame, but five drops was still something. Judging by how Lady Sophia lit up while secretly fiddling with her screen, the market price must be decent too.
"Lan-lan-i is invincible right now! She can beat anyone!"
"All of a sudden?"
Was there alcohol in that spirit blood? The kid was hyped up like she was drunk.
"You think you can beat me? No way! I'll win!"
"I..."
"It's fine to be confident, contractor. I'll win everything for you."
Without me even intending it, the kids had steered things toward a battle. Cheonsol watched with approval, and Evrande — who'd tried to stop them — caved under Evril's stubbornness.
"Mad Demon! Give us permission!"
"Daddy. Please give us permission."
"Daddy..."
Nothing for it. Since the kids asked for this themselves, they wouldn't hold it against me even when puberty hit.
"Fine."
"The Guide was right after all! I'll set up the battle. Since we don't want to stress the kids, just one match. Colosseum style!"
Sophia cheered excitedly, then looked at Lirota.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You need to build the arena."
"Woe is me..."
Grumbling, Lirota built a makeshift arena. A circular stadium rose up in an empty stretch of the Divine Realm.
Sophia gestured, sprinkling something over the kids, then declared:
"The rules are simple! If the divinity I bestowed on you disappears, you're out! Leave the arena and you're out! The last one standing is the eldest sister!"
"Lan-lan-i is gonna be the eldest sister!"
"Auntie. Please descend here."
"Krista..."
"Trust me."
Looking at the kids all ready to go, I got worried. Was this really okay? Really?
"Then let's begin!"
"Lan-lan-i. Evni. Evril. All of you, do your best."
"Evril... and everyone! Hang in there!"
When Cheonsol cheered for all the daughters, Evrande hastily revised her words. Another reminder of Cheonsol's mom power.
The arrow had already been loosed, so I might as well cheer too.
"Everyone do your best. Just don't get hurt!"
"Daddy cheered for me!"
"No! It was for Lan-lan-i!"
"Heh..."
The moment the battle started, Lan-lan-i charged toward the center. Unlike Lan-lan-i, who had to fight with her body, the two spirit contractors put distance between themselves.
"Our pretty Evril. You're telling me to fight that?"
The lightning spirit Evril had summoned jabbed a finger at Krista.
"Type-wise, I'm at a disadvantage."
"Then take down Lan-lan-i over there!"
"That's... dangerous!"
The electric net the lightning spirit cast blocked the mound of earth. But it couldn't stop some of it from seeping through the gaps.
"Why attack me first?!"
"Obviously you take out the easy opponent first. That cute little Vampir drank Lirota's blood, so her resistance is up."
"Grr!!"
The lightning spirit and the earth spirit put on a display of dazzling yet deadly spirit magic. Forgotten for a moment amid the flashy effects, Lan-lan-i slipped through the opening.
"Evril!!"
"Why me?! Evni's right there too!"
"You lied earlier about sleeping a hundred nights!"
"It wasn't a lie!"
"You looked down on Lan-lan-i just 'cause you're a little bigger!"
"Evni's bigger than me too!"
Lan-lan-i fell silent for a moment.
"Evni is... honestly just too big."
"Heheh..."
Evni squirmed bashfully, twisting her body. She seemed to think it was a compliment.
"Yohan. Looking at them now, isn't Lan-lan-i bigger than Evril?"
"You're right."
"It's because she just consumed Lirota's blood. The blood of a powerful being accelerates a Vampir's growth."
No matter how I looked at it, Vampirs were a broken race. Aside from a slightly lower body temperature, they had so many advantages over humans.
"Auntie! Help me!"
"Use the skill! The one I taught you!"
"Lightning Step!"
Transformed into a streak of current, Evril raced across the arena. Evni, who'd been watching from a distance, jumped sideways in surprise.
"She dodged?"
"She dodged?"
Not just Evril — even the lightning spirit was shocked.
I was surprised too. That speed was hard for even my eyes to track — how did she dodge it?
"Evril... get... punished..."
Fist clenched tight, Evni struck Evril's shoulder. Caught off guard, Evril couldn't dodge and took the hit.
For a second I worried she'd be hurt. Then I saw a faint, pale aura bloom from Evril's shoulder. She'd blocked it somehow. I was about to open my mouth to praise her when I overheard the elves talking.
"Evril's in trouble. A full quarter of the divinity bestowed by our brother-in-law's goddess has been stripped away."
"Evril is at such a disadvantage. I just hope she doesn't get sad about being the youngest..."
Good thing I didn't speak up too soon. I nearly embarrassed myself.