Side Story 1: The Battle Junkie’s Little Sister

Black Summoner — LNCrawler · All chapters

Side Story 1: The Battle Junkie’s Little Sister

I slowly awoke to gentle sunlight shining through my fluttering curtains. As always, this was a process that would take a while, as I wasn’t all that good at getting up in the morning.

“Arf!” (Rion, it’s morning.)

“Give me...five more minutes...”

“Arf! Arf!” (Goodness, there you go again with that same old line.)

Even before sunrise, Efil would already be up and cooking so that we could start the day with a wonderful hot breakfast. Despite being so bad with mornings, the reason I was able to consistently make it to the dining table in time was my wonderful partner, Alex. I wasn’t nearly as bad as Melfina, but I still needed occasional help with escaping the fiendish clutches of my warm and fluffy bed.

Even today, Alex was holding the collar of my Efil-made pajamas in his mouth and straining to pull me out of the territory of the devil. Wait, no, you’re going to ruin my pajamas if you pull any harder. I’ll wake up. I’m up already!

“Fwaaah...good morning, Alex.”

“Arf!” (Morning.)

Gently rubbing my eyes, which were still desperate to close for more sleep, I turned to greet the shadow wolf, who had plonked down onto the mattress. Farewell, my beloved bed. Good morning, new day.

“By the way, can’t you wake me up in a less aggressive way? Say, how Efil-nee wakes Kel-nii up.”

“Arf...” (How do you expect me to do something so skillful?)

“Ahaha, never mind, I was just asking.”

At least it was better than being woken up by Ruka, whose go-to strategy was belly-flopping onto the bed. I’d had it happen to me once when I’d overslept, and to my surprise, it had turned out much more painful than I could have imagined. After learning that, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the dads in manga and anime having to suffer through it when they just wanted to get a bit more rest on their days off.

That said, there was the occasional boss who wouldn’t wake up even after such an attack — Melfina being a perfect example — but I suppose there were exceptions to everything.

I changed out of my pajamas and into casual wear, then brushed out my messy bed hair. Around the time I was done, a wonderful smell came out of nowhere and tickled my nose.

“Mmm, today’s breakfast is...oh, it’s grilled fish!”

Efil’s cooking was suuuuuuper delicious, but it was kind of troubling how it always made me unconsciously start drooling. If I let my guard down because I’d only just woken up, I might end up exposing my slovenly side to Kelvin.

Pull yourself together, me! Stay on your toes! While staring at my face in the mirror, I slapped my cheeks to psych myself up.

“Arf?” (You still half-asleep?)

“Ahaha, maybe...”

I had accidentally slapped myself a bit too hard. I rubbed my tingling cheeks as I stepped out into the corridor with Alex.

As we descended the main staircase, we happened to bump into Ruka, who was in the middle of wiping the balustrades. Although she was supposedly still an apprentice, to my eyes, the speed at which she was completing her morning tasks was already worthy of the title of a proper maid.

“Ah, Rion-sama! Good morning!”

“Morning, Ruka-chan.”

“And good morning to you too, Alex. Your fur’s as wonderful as ever, even though you’ve just woken up,” Ruka said, rubbing Alex’s head as he crooned softly with his eyes closed blissfully.

“Maybe it’s because I brush him so carefully every day,” I said.

“Arf...” (Your brushing really is addictive...)

“Aww, hearing that makes me happy.”

“Ahaha, I’ve got no idea what he just said. Oh, right, Rion-sama, you haven’t had your breakfast yet! Shouldn’t you hurry?”

“Oh, I forgot! Let’s go, Alex!”

After exchanging a promise to play together later, I parted with Ruka, and the shadow wolf and I headed for our destination: the dining room.

But...hold on. “Alex, my hair isn’t weird, is it? Did I get all the bed hair straightened out?”

“Arf. Aaaarf.” (You look as cute as ever. Let’s go have breakfast already.)

Jeez, Alex still has a ways to go before understanding how a girl’s heart works. But...so, I’m cute, huh? Ehehe...

“All right!” I pushed the door open forcefully and called in a cheerful voice, “Good morning, everyone!”

Kelvin, Sera, and Gramps sat at the dining table. Thankfully, breakfast hadn’t started yet. The rhythmic sound of a knife on a cutting board and the bubbling of a boiling pot could be heard from the attached kitchen.

Is Efil-nee still in the middle of cooking?

“Hey there, Rion. Glad to see you so energetic this morning.”

“It is gladdening indeed, my king. It makes me feel invigorated as well. Come now, let me reciprocate in kind. I’ll use my diaphragm to —”

“Stop that. You’ll break the windows,” warned Kelvin.

I can also see the windows breaking for real. Gramps is just that powerful, after all.

“Looks like you didn’t oversleep today. Good on you for managing to avoid Ruka’s belly flop,” joked Sera with an elbow on the table. She had the bearing of a mature older sister, but the smile on her face seemed tinged with a certain innocence as well. It was such a beautiful smile that even I thought I would fall for her.

The thing is, someone who didn’t know Sera well enough might think she was one to just do whatever she wanted, but she was much stricter than me when it came to sleeping well and waking early. She also knew a ton of manners that I didn’t, and the contrast with her usual simple personality would sometimes catch me off guard. In short, she was both very pretty and also really cute.

“It’s no laughing matter, Sera-nee. And I don’t oversleep that much in the first place!” Only as much as the average person my age, I’m sure!

“Arf?” (Wait, you’re not at all self-aware?)

“Look at that. Seems like you’ve been betrayed by Alex.”

“Aleeeex!”

“Hahaha, well, grab a seat,” laughed Kelvin. “Breakfast should be ready any time now. Come on, Alex, you settle down too.”

“Arf!” (Okay!)

“Jeez! You be thankful to Kel-nii for stepping in, all right?”

After chiding him, I pulled myself together. Although our seating arrangement wasn’t set in stone, I had gotten used to sitting next to Kelvin at the table. Alex forcibly pushed his big body under my chair and put his head on his paws, waiting for food, and yawned. You sure are easygoing. Look, Efil-nee is already pushing her serving cart over.

“Thank you for waiting, everyone. Oh, good morning, Rion-sama. Looks like it’s an early day for you.”

“How could you say that, Efil-nee?!”

I knew without a doubt that she didn’t have any ill will, but I was quite sensitive to those words at the moment. Let’s learn to get up by ourselves in the morning. Yep, let’s definitely do that.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Thank you for the food.”

I put my hands together and gave thanks for the delicious meal. Today, too, I’d managed to finish even the last grain of rice. That was something I wouldn’t even have imagined in my past life. Healthiness really is the most important thing.

“What’s everyone planning on doing today?”

After I’d helped Efil to put away the plates and cutlery, we had time for a short breather. I was the last one to finish eating, and Kelvin and Sera were already drinking their after-meal coffee. Gramps was in the green tea camp. Then, during the night, all of them would be part of the alcohol camp. The amount they drank worried me sometimes.

“I was challenged to a revenge match by Sera. I’ll be going downstairs to beat her at her own game soon.”

“Beat me at my own game?! You sure know how to talk big! During our last practice session, you didn’t win by much of a margin! Today is not going to be the same as before!”

“I recall you saying those exact same words last time.”

“You remember wrong! I can totally beat you using Jin Scrimmage on only one arm, just wait!”

“Sure you can.”

“You’re doubting me, aren’t you?! I can tell; you totally are!”

Ah, the two of them have started arguing again. The mature Sera from a moment before had gone out on a journey, and the inner Sera had emerged. I could swear Gramps enjoyed egging her on.

Kelvin turned to me. “What about you, Rion? Will you be heading to the training room with them?”

“Hmm...”

Gramps’s and Sera’s power levels were, at the end of the day, rather similar. Unfortunately, Alex and I weren’t quite there yet. Even if we were to join in, we’d only be getting in the way.

“Nuh-uh, I’m thinking of hitting the town with Alex.”

However, that was only for now. Not a day went by where we were slacking off. We’ll catch up to them one day!

“Whoa, look at Gerard’s motivation just draining right out of him.”

“What?”

“So, Rion isn’t coming to watch...”

“Hold on, you’re not going to go easy on me just because of that, are you?!”

“Oh, uh, ahaha...”

“Arf.” (He looks really dispirited.)

Gramps’s head and shoulders were drooping so low that it was as if he had witnessed the end of the world. Um, should I go watch their match after all?

While rubbing the shoulder part of the knight’s armor — it cheered him back up right away — I turned towards my brother, who was looking on with amusement, and asked, “What’ll you be doing, Kel-nii?”

“Me? I’m going out to buy something with Efil. But before that...” He looked up at the ceiling, prompting me to follow suit. “I think it’s about time I went to wake up Melfina.”

“Oh, right. You should probably do that, yeah.”

If left alone, she was likely to sleep until lunchtime.

◇ ◇ ◇

“...and that’s how everybody was treating me. Isn’t that terrible? I can wake up by myself if I really want to!”

“Looks like you’re having a pretty tough time of it so soon after the house moving, Rion-chan. Oh, hold on. You only arrived in Parth after Kel-chan and the rest moved, didn’t you?”

In the middle of my morning walk with Alex, we’d dropped by the Fairy’s Song, the inn where Kelvin had lived when he’d first come to town. I had ordered two servings of milk and was now sitting at one of the counter seats, talking with the proprietress, Clare.

Milk really was the best drink in the mornings, and this was actually my second glass of the day. The benefits to my height and chest that I’d been hoping for all those years had yet to manifest, but...

I’m sure that if I simply keep at it, one day I’ll definitely get Sera-nee’s figure!

“Arf, arf. Arf.” (In that case, I won’t wake you up anymore. Let’s see how you do tomorrow morning.)

“You won’t w— remember how we were taught that in battle, changing circumstances require flexibility? I mean, we wouldn’t want to trouble Efil-nee, would we?”

“Arf?” (Whatever do you mean?)

“It looks like you’re actually conversing with Alex, Rion-chan. Seeing you two get along so well makes me happy.”

We don’t only look like we’re talking, we actually are...

“In any case, although you might encounter various hiccups living with Kelvin and his friends, what with all of them having such colorful personalities, they really are great people. Of that, I can assure you.”

“Mm, don’t worry. I trust Kel-nii and the others from the bottom of my heart. What I was saying now was, um, just me letting off steam, really.”

“Hahaha, as Kel-chan’s little sister, it seems you didn’t need that reminder after all. Then again, it makes sense that you understand him even better than I do. Here you go, have another glass on the house. Drink up!”

“Aww, thank you!”

The extra serving of milk was a bit much for me and my rather small appetite. However, I couldn’t turn down Clare’s generosity, so I did my best and managed to finish it somehow.

I loved my occasional visits with Clare. Talking to her made me feel warm and relaxed, almost as if she were my mother. Sometimes, I’d get the same feeling talking to Efil, too.

At this time of day, most customers coming to the inn for breakfast had already left, leaving the tavern fairly empty and Clare generally free. Maybe I shouldn’t say it, as she was running a business there, but I loved being able to have her all to myself for a while.

“Hey, I’m back!”

Oh, there I was talking about how there aren’t many customers, and now one’s come in. Wait, but that voice...

“Oh, it’s you. Welcome back, I guess.”

“What’s with the lack of enthusiasm?!”

“Good day, Clare-san!”

It was Uld and his party members. I remembered meeting them before at Sangria Forest. All of them had bulky muscles that were noticeable even underneath their armor. According to Gramps, however, I was much, much stronger than them from a physical standpoint. How exactly is all that strength packed into my thin arms? I guess this world’s just a mysterious place.

“That’s a pretty big group you’ve got today. Is that boy a new member?”

“Oho, there’s Clare-san for you; she notices things quickly!” laughed the archer.

As Clare had noted, there was indeed a boy who was almost hidden behind Uld and the others’ hulking forms. Judging from his appearance, he was slightly older than me, which placed him around Efil’s age. He was shouldering an iron axe and had a pretty solid build himself. His expression was kind of sullen, though.

“This guy is a newcomer who registered at the guild just before Kelvin set off for Toraj. He’s pretty talented, having managed to reach Rank D already. But he’s got a difficult personality and was having trouble finding a party that would accept him.”

“Get off my back already! It’s not that I couldn’t find a party to accept me, it’s that I couldn’t find a party that suits me!” the boy interjected, turning his face to the side in a huff.

“And now you see what he’s like. He was out of options, so we’re taking him in temporarily. We’ll be training him up until he finds a party he can get along with.”

“Our leader’s generosity never ceases to bring tears to my eyes...”

“You think I’ll just stand here letting you guys spin the story however you want?! In the first place, you were the ones who interrupted my attempts to solic—”

“Hold on, is that Rion-chan I see?!”

“What?! You’re right!”

“Ahaha, good morning, Uld-san and everyone.”

The sight of the men all suddenly rushing towards me was, honestly, a little scary. For some reason, the boy who’d been sulking a moment before was also part of that group.

“Whoooaaa! Who’s this girl? Someone introduce me!”

“Ah, I see the troublesome part of his personality now,” sighed Clare from behind the counter.

The boy’s breathing was growing heavy as he brashly pushed his way closer and closer. Ah, if you get any closer —

“You idiot! Don’t you realize you’re scaring Rion-chan?! That’s not gentlemanly at all!”

“Dammit, let me go! Let! Me! Go!”

Having caught on, the archer and swordsman, both of whom had also been rushing towards me at top speed, held their younger companion back.

“Even so, I got her name! It’s Rion, right?! You there! I’ll allow you into my party!”

“Umm...”

“Kid, we give you kudos for having the guts to solicit her even under such circumstances. That mental fortitude, at least, I’d like a portion of.”

“Like I give a fuck about that! Let me go right now!”

“But at the same time, you also have terrible tunnel vision. Take a better look in front of you.”

The boy, who was still being held down, looked around my seat. “Front? The hell you talk—”

“Grrrrrr...”

Alex was at my side, now in full battle mode. His low growl and raised hackles made it clear that he had no intention of letting the teenager take another step towards me.

“A sh...shadow wolf?”

“That’s right, kid. If you plan on making it as an adventurer, you have to learn to differentiate between opponents you can beat and those you can’t with a single glance. If it isn’t clear, this shadow wolf is in the category of those you should never, ever raise a hand against. If those two hadn’t stopped you, you’d be mincemeat by now.”

“Oh, come on, Alex wouldn’t go that far. Right, Alex?”

Although the wolf was my partner, Kelvin would also give him orders from time to time. Jeez, everyone worries about me too much. But it makes me happy, so, oh well!

“Phew. Wouldn’t go ‘that far,’ huh? You sure are keeping a scary pet, Rion-chan.”

“Alex is not a pet! He’s family. We even sleep together at night. Isn’t that right, Alex?”

“Arf!” (Mhm.)

“Seriously?! You’ve got guts, Rion-chan.”

Um, I don’t think there’s any particular need for guts here. Alex’s fur is super fluffy, and I sleep very soundly when hugging him.

“The, uh, shadow wolf aside, I haven’t given up just yet! This is surely a one-in-a-million opportunity. Judging from the sword at your waist, you’re no ordinary person! Furthermore, your exemplary facial features make you highly suitable as my ideal woman!” claimed the boy, pointing a finger at me.

As I was struggling to come up with an appropriate response, a reliable voice spoke up behind me. “Sorry to interrupt the fun and games, but can you give me your orders already?”

“Read the atmosphere a little, won’t you, old hag! I don’t have time for you right now!”

“Shut up, you brat!”

To my astonishment, Uld-san and his party members all harmonized by saying the exact same thing at the exact same time.

“Was...that a joke just now?”

“Eeek!”

Although there was no sound, one could almost imagine there was a threatening rumbling noise coming from behind Clare.

“Clare-san, one mug of ale for me!”

“My usual. Large, please!”

“I’d like ‘currae’ from the hidden menu! Kid, you order too, quickly!”

“Uh, umm...then, a boar dish, if you have one on the menu?”

“Clare, I’ll have —”

“You pay back your tab first.”

“You’re charging me even though this is my home too?!”

Even the most veteran adventurers in Parth didn’t dare go against Clare. All of them meekly did an about-face and settled themselves at a table. The younger boy seemed reluctant, but followed suit all the same.

“You guys calm down a bit, all right? Well, it’s going to take me a while to cook everything. In the meantime, hup!”

With a slight heave, Clare brought out a rather thick and sturdy round table. She plonked it down beside the men and a tremor ran through the floor.

“What is this?”

“This table of ours has withstood quite a number of arm wrestling matches between adventurers wanting to prove their strength. If you want to solicit Rion-chan, kid, it’s only fair that you prove yourself first, right? All right, I’m off to the kitchen now. Honey, you handle the rest.”

“Handle the r— what?!”

Ahaha, Uld-san looks so flustered. Anyway, I have to arm wrestle now, is that it?

“Ha...hahaha...I see, I see! So, the old hag meant that I should beat this girl in an arm wrestling match to prove my strength to her? Turns out she gets me after all!” The boy radiated motivation as his eyes took on a confident gleam.

“Dude, is Rion-chan going to be okay? We’re letting this happen?”

“How would I know? In times like these, it’s our wonderful and reliable party leader we turn to, isn’t it?”

“You guys are dumping it back on me now? Just what is Clare thinking? Rion-chan, if you don’t want to do this, you can just say no.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I don’t mind. Let’s do it, then. Arm wrestling.”

“Whaaat?!”

Oh hey, they harmonized again. I guess they’re just that close.

I stepped up onto a stool — because I wasn’t tall enough — and rested my right elbow on the table, then announced that I was ready.

“Arf?” (Don’t forget to go easy on him.)

“It’ll be fine. You’re such a worrywart sometimes, Alex.”

“Even your wolf is worrying about you? Rest assured, I’m a gentleman. I won’t hurt you!”

“Uh, thank you?” Is it just me, or did he completely misunderstand my exchange with Alex?

“Dude, is Rion-chan strong? Even though she looks so dainty?”

“Seriously, bro, don’t ask me! I wouldn’t know! But considering whose sister she is...”

“Can everyone on the sidelines be quiet for a second? Rion-chan and I are about to have a moment.”

Okay, that’s a bit annoying.

Uld sighed. “There you go, getting all full of yourself again. In any case, both sides have expressed consent, so it’s not my place to say anything. Are you two ready to start?”

The boy and I held each other’s hands on top of the table in an arm wrestling pose. The only thing now was to wait for the starting signal. His hands seem a bit sweaty... I guess it just shows how eager he is to win?

“I’m good to start whenever,” I confirmed.

“And so am I. Hahaha, this is where my rose-colored life as an adventurer begins!” my opponent crowed.

Uld brought a hand to his forehead. “Seriously, you...ugh, never mind. All right, here goes. Ready...”

I tightened my grip a little.

“Go!”

But even after the signal, I couldn’t feel the boy exerting any strength or making any effort to push my arm down. What’s he doing?

“It’s...already started, you know.”

“I know, all right! But it’d be boring if I clinched a win right out of the gate, so I’m thinking of giving you some time to shine. Don’t worry about me; go ahead and push my arm down!”

“If you say so.” This is technically supposed to be a serious face-off, so I don’t like that he’s making light of me. Well, let’s just take him up on his offer, then.

I began applying my strength, ramping it up slowly in small increments.

“Oho, looks like you’re pretty good for a girl. I knew I had an eye for strong people. But this isn’t enough to — uh, wait, hold on, hold on. Just how are your tiny arms exerting so much strength?! This — no, shit, wait, nooooooooo!”

Thud.

“Yay, I win.”

The boy’s soulful howl rang emptily as the back of his hand hit the table. I had done my best to match his strength so as to give him a fighting chance, but he had completely frozen, as if his soul had left his body. Um, he’s not hurt, is he? I thought I was pretty gentle...

“How could this be? I was the strongest guy back in my village...and yet I’ve lost to a girl? Is this a nightmare? I must be dreaming...”

“Arf, arrrf...” (Poor child, looks like he took some real mental damage.)

Umm, was that because of me?

“Damn, Rion-chan’s so strong! From the look of it, you weren’t even going all-out, were you?”

“She’s Kelvin’s little sister, all right! Anyone who gets taken in by her sweet appearance is in for a bad time. Just saying, but I saw through her ability from the start!”

“Like hell you did. Granted, it’s hard to read the intentions of someone who isn’t emanating any hostility. To be honest, even I hadn’t expected you to be so talented, Rion-chan.”

“Don’t let this get you down too much, young man. Our party leader is saying this shit to look cool, but he himself previously underestimated Efil-chan’s strength and got himself finished off in a split second. Compared to that, you got off rather easily.”

“There you go bringing up uncalled-for episodes from long ag— Hold on, young man?”

The boy was trembling furiously. Uld placed a hand on his shoulder, calling out to him again with concern.

What’s happening?

“Kel...Kelvin’s little sister...?! You...you’re that Kelvin’s sibling?!?!”

“I assume the Kelvin you’re referring to is my big brother, but —”

“NOOOOOOO!” The boy let out a weird screech as he dashed out of the Fairy’s Song.

What on earth was that?!

“Oh, right, I forgot. That guy has a severe case of Kelvinphobia.”

“Well, it’s hard to blame him, having been hit with so much bloodlust during their first encounter.”

“Of course, like every other time, it was entirely his own fault.”

Kel-nii, what on earth did you do?!

“Here’s the boar di— Hey, where’s the kid?” Clare asked, presenting a scrumptious-looking platter. But the one who had ordered it was no longer there.

“Uh...off to banish some mental demons.”

Alex ate the dish later with great gusto.

◇ ◇ ◇

Normally, I would have been fast asleep at this hour of the night, and Alex was already snoring peacefully, all curled up. Tonight, however, I was in ninja mode. Lower my waist, bend my knees. Tip-toe, tip-toe, tippy-toe. Here I am at Kel-nii’s room!

“Pardon the intrusion,” I mouthed silently as I quietly opened the door. All right, he’s asleep. Sneaking into my big brother’s bed while he’s sleeping is part of the fundamentals of being a little sister. According to the manga I’d read, it could even be said that this was the most basic talent all little sisters should possess. So it followed that, in order to properly fulfill my role, I had to follow the wisdom of the ancients and sneak into Kelvin’s bed.

Sneakily, sneakily...

Upon safely reaching the bed, I wasted no time burrowing in. Uh-oh, the base has turned into a territory of the devil from Kel-nii’s body warmth! This was a grave situation for me, as I was already being assaulted by waves of sleepiness. Even so, I obstinately pushed my way under the blanket.

As a result of my dogged persistence, I finally spotted the light at the end of the tunnel. My head popped out from the other end and was bathed in cool air.

“Ehehe, I’ve made it.”

When I looked next to me, there was Kelvin’s sleeping face up close. So, this is the thing called “siblings sleeping together,” done by families through the ages. It’s got my heart racing quite a bit more than I’d imagined.

In order not to wake him up, I spoke in a super soft voice. “Listen, listen, Kel-nii. So much happened to me today, you wouldn’t believe it! I chatted so much with Clare-san, then I also met the newest member of Uld-san’s party...”

I reported everything that had happened that day, almost as if recording a journal. I shared absolutely everything — thoughts that I had, places I’d visited, chapters that had been added to my book of experiences — with this beloved brother of mine, he who had brought me to this wonderful world and welcomed me with open arms.

“Today was so...much fun...I hope...that...tomor...zzz...”

Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep, my heart filled to bursting with warmth and affection.

◇ ◇ ◇

I waited for a while after Rion had gone quiet and was breathing peacefully before finally opening my eyes.

You think she’s fallen asleep?

::Seems so.::

Just in case, I used the Network to confirm with Efil, who was on my other side, before turning to look at our cute little intruder. She was deep in slumber, and her face was filled with peace and reassurance.

I got my guard up when I sensed someone stealthily moving across the room, but it was just Rion in the end.

::She didn’t seem to notice me at all. She only had eyes for you, Master.::

That, or she was so sleepy she had tunnel vision. Anyway, sneaking into my bed is quite the bold move. Is it just me, or is this completely beyond the boundaries of what siblings do together? Is it normal for little sisters to do this? What do you think, Efil?

::Unfortunately, I’ve never had a little sister myself, so I cannot say for certain. However, Rion-sama did, in fact, just do so. Does that not mean it is simply how things are?::

So, you’re saying it is a little sister-like thing to do?

::I am only speaking based on my observations.::

I wasn’t quite convinced, but reminded myself that perhaps this sort of behavior was indeed the norm for this world. Efil and I took another look at Rion’s sleeping face.

“Aww, so cute...”

The two of us inadvertently ended up harmonizing. Seeing how blissful my little sister looked convinced me to stop stressing over such minor concerns.

All right, let’s do this. It’s normal for little sisters to do so! It’s normal for little sisters to do so! It’s normal for little sisters to do so!

::So, it is normal?::

Say it with me! It’s normal for little sisters to do so!

::I-It’s normal for little sisters to do so! Ah...I think I’m starting to consider it normal as well.::

I knew it. Isn’t it strange how that works?

Although we had worked ourselves up into a bit of a weird late-night mood, I wasn’t bothered. That said, it was about time I got some rest, as I was quite sleepy myself. After using the Network to say goodnight to both Efil and the sleeping Rion, I closed my eyes once again.

Here’s hoping tomorrow turns out to be another wonderful day, Rion. Oh, and maybe I should keep an eye on that boy you mentioned. He sounded extremely rude. If I see him...zzz...