Chapter 3: Servant

Adload had a few silver wolf villages spread around here and there, such as the one that Emilia and Leus had grown up in.

About a year ago, their village had been suddenly attacked by a large group of monsters. Their father, who was the elder in the village, had fought bravely, but they were quickly overrun. He was eaten right in front of Emilia. Leus had been hiding with his mother, so he had been lucky enough to not witness his father’s horrible doom. Stunned by grief and despair, Emilia stood surrounded by the monsters that had just eaten her father. But as the monsters drew closer, Emilia's mother came charging in. She desperately handed Leus over to Emilia and shielded her children from the monsters with her own body. Their mother’s sacrifice gave the siblings enough time to flee from the village.

Terrified, the siblings had run through the forest at random, thinking of nothing but getting away. There, they happened to run into a group of humans who were just passing by. They were not saved, however, as the humans were slave traders; their nightmare had only just begun.

They were sold into slavery, and had magic collars attached to their necks. To make matters worse, because they were rare silver wolves, they were treated extra terribly by the slave owners. They barely got any food at all, and would be beaten if they did anything the slave owners didn’t like.

The reason Emilia couldn’t talk when I’d found them was especially cruel—they had finally been given food for a change, but it had turned out to be poisoned. Leus had been too suspicious and scared to eat, so Emilia decided to eat it first to show him it was safe. The poison ruined her throat.

Still, the siblings did not give up. They didn’t want their parents’ sacrifice to be in vain. They endured everything the humans did to them. In order to stay together, they remained as obedient as they could. And then, one day, they finally found a chance to escape.

The slave owner’s carriage was attacked on the road by a group of monsters. The siblings escaped in the midst of chaos and fled into the forest because they were scared the slave owners would come after them. They ran desperately through the dense forests, trying to avoid the monsters hiding within. After fleeing for some time from the monsters, they eventually collapsed from exhaustion. Just as they’d been cornered, completely drained of their strength, I’d shown up and saved them.

“... And that about sums it up.”

I was in Liole’s house, explaining the siblings’ story over tea. It was one of our usual training days, and we had just taken a break after a sparring session. He’d asked me about the kids, so I’d told him how I had found them and how they ended up there.

“I see. First the runts have their parents eaten, then slavery? Talk about terrible luck.”

“Exactly. I’ve pretty much finished healing their physical wounds, but the emotional scarring runs really deep. They haven’t smiled even once yet.”

“Their parents were murdered right in front of them, of course they’re not smiling. Trauma like that sticks with you. So, what are you planning on doing with them now?”

“First, I’ll try to get to know them. Make sure they’re comfortable with me.”

They both wanted to get stronger. The drive was there. Once their physical injuries had healed, they could start training right away. Still, I also wanted to do something about their mental wounds.

Emilia was acting obedient, given that she felt indebted to me for having saved them, but I could tell that she was struggling deep down. She acted tough in front of her brother, but I had seen her sneak away to cry by herself many times. The terror and pain inflicted upon her by the slave owners, as well as the trauma from watching her parents die in front of her, were clearly taking a heavy toll on her. It was obvious that she needed help fast, or she would break from the horrible trauma.

Leus was acting like any other cheeky kid his age, but he was just putting on a tough front. He was also scared, and probably wanted to just lie down and cry. Regardless, his wish to protect his only remaining family was clearly stronger—hence the tough act.

Erina had seen through his act, and he’d apparently broke down in her arms after she spent some time caring for him alone. I’m sure Erina’s motherly love helped get through to him, but he was just a kid. It was bound to happen at some point. He still kept revolting against me specifically. Maybe seeing his beloved sister—and Erina, who he now trusted—both speak so highly of me got on his nerves.

Regardless of the reason, I hadn’t fully gained their trust yet.

“They’re kids. I want to see them smile more.”

“Give them a sword, then. I always smile when I swing my partner over here!”

“You do, but that’s because you’re crazy, old man.”

“Hahaha! Well, whose fault is that?! You’re the one enabling me!”

I couldn’t deny that, which annoyed me. Recently, I had been coming to fight him nearly every day, which had definitely made the battle-crazed old man even more obsessed.

“Just you wait. I’ll train those two into worthy opponents for you, old man.”

“Hah! I look forward to it. Oh, if you’re going to teach them to fight, bring them here. If they seem worth my time, I’ll teach them a thing or two.”

“That might not be a bad idea. Or it might be a terrible idea. I’m not sure yet. I’ll think about it. See you later old man.”

“I wanted to go for one more round, but oh well.”

We were still fighting with the same rules—the first hit wins. I had continued to win most of our fights, though he kept getting stronger each time we fought. I couldn’t let my guard down for even a second against him now. He was truly a formidable opponent. Even when I used various techniques I knew from my old life that he’d never seen before, he’d adapt in an instant, as if he’d seen it a million times before.

I barely managed to win today, but I’d come close to losing several times myself. It felt great having a worthy opponent to fight for once. The old man did beat me once in a while, but he was seriously a battle-crazed fool—he actually seemed more excited when he lost. He was a stubborn one, too. He’d never lose on purpose, that was for sure.

I left Liole’s house, killed a couple of monsters for food, then headed back home. It was already dark by the time I got back. Emilia and Noel were cleaning the hallway as I landed outside and walked in. Noel bowed and greeted me like usual, but Emilia stood frozen in shock for a second.

“Welcome home, Sirius. Emilia, dear, aren’t you going to greet him?”

“Ah... y-yes! Welcome home, Sirius!”

“I’m back. What’s wrong, Emilia? You look pale.”

“Of course she’s surprised—she’s never seen your magic before.”

So that was why. I had never actually shown the siblings that I could fly.

“Was that... magic?”

“That’s right. You’ll tire yourself out if you keep getting surprised by stuff like this. You should just accept that he’s weirdly amazing at everything and move on.”

“Okay, got it, Noel!”

“H-Hey! Wrong!”

Noel suddenly stopped cleaning and pointed at Emilia like she’d done something wrong. I hadn’t noticed her mess up or anything of the sort. Maybe it was a detail only a professional could pick up on? Was Noel really improving that much?

“O-Oh! Umm, I got it, Big sis!”

“That’s right! Good girl! You should always call me big si—ouch!”

I sentenced Noel to a firm cheek pinch that I’d dubbed the “Iron Claw.” It was one of the ways I would punish her.

“Ouuuch! My face is going to stretch! Hold back a little, at least!”

“I guess it’s fine if she’s okay with it, but shouldn’t you be teaching her how to speak formally to her elders, or something?”

I’d suddenly realized I probably shouldn’t have scolded Noel in front of Emilia like that, but it was too late.

“It’s fine, she’s okay with it. Right, Emilia?”

“Y-Yes! I don’t mind.”

She was clearly bewildered, but I was happy as long as the two got along.

“All right. Anyways, I’ll be making a new dish today.”

“Ohhh? Now that’s what I like to hear! What’s it called?”

“It’s called tofu burgers. I’ll mix ground beef and tofu together to make a patty out of it.”

“I see! I didn’t understand much of that, but I see!”

“Try to at least understand the words I’ve taught you before...”

I could feel Emilia’s stare from the side as Noel and I talked, so I looked over at her.

“Anything wrong?”

“Uh...? No! Nothing...”

“I’ll make lots, so make sure you eat up, okay?”

“O-Okay!”

She was fit enough to work, but she always froze up when we started chatting. I needed to do something, and soon.

“Phew, I’m sooo full! Yet another tasty new culinary experience.”

After dinner, the servants all happily patted their bellies.

“It was quite tasty, and much easier to eat than regular meat.”

“Interesting consistency. I’ll try making it next time.”

While the servants all complimented the food, the siblings just sat there in silence after they’d finished. They did eat a lot, and had clearly enjoyed it, but they hadn’t said a word since they’d sat down. Erina obviously wanted them to at least say “thank you,” so she called out to them.

“What did you think, you two? You both had two servings, so I assume it was to your liking?”

“Um... yes...”

“I-I think so...”

“Then say it out loud. Don’t think about being polite towards your master. Saying thank you for the food to whoever made it is basic manners.”

“Okay. It was delicious. Thank you, Sirius.”

“Ugh... it was... delicious...”

Emilia looked as expressionless as before. Leus looked annoyed, like he’d lost something in saying it. But all that mattered was that they said it in the first place. I didn’t mind their expressions in the slightest. Erina was doing a good job teaching them manners, but it was clear that Emilia’s mental state was only getting worse. Her eyes looked dead, like she wasn’t really present at all. I had to do something before it was too late.

After dinner, Emilia came over to help with the dishes. I called out to her.

“Emilia. Please come to my room after this.”

“O-Okay...”

“S-Stop it! Don’t do anything to my sis!”

“You’ll come study with me, Leus.”

“Wait! Erina! My sister is... she’s... ahh?!”

Erina grabbed Leus and dragged him out of the room, clearly aware of what I was trying to do.

Once we couldn’t hear Leus anymore, I turned to Dii and Noel.

“Please leave us alone for a bit, you two.”

“Very well.”

They replied in unison and headed out of the room. When Noel had reached the door, shel quickly turned back and smiled impishly.

“Hey Sirius, be gentle with her.”

“Of course.”

“You suuure? Make sure you start with kissing before yo—ouch, ouch, not the faaace!”

I punished Noel with another “Iron Claw,” then brought Emilia to my room and told her to undress.

Emilia was left in her underwear, and she blushed while avoiding my eyes.

“Now lie down on the bed, please.”

“Okay.”

This would surely look very shady if anyone was watching us, but I was simply healing the scars left over from her time as a slave. Her body was still covered in them, so I was using my healing ability to cure them. The reason my skills could thoroughly heal injuries and remove scars was fairly simple—when tissue is damaged, new cells normally rush to close the wound. What I was doing was dismantling the mana around the wound or scar, then creating new cells identical to the ones currently present in that part of the body. The only reason I was able to do that was because of my medical knowledge from my previous life, and my familiarity with human anatomy. Regular healing magic was surely much easier and more efficient, but I couldn’t use that very well because of my affinity. What mattered was that I was able to heal her, though. The method didn’t matter.

“I’ll do your stomach today. I’m going to touch you, okay?”

“Okay. Please.”

I had finished healing her arms, legs, and any part that was normally visible. Now the only remaining parts were those normally hidden by her clothes. I had pretty much finished healing Leus; but since Emilia was a girl and all, I wanted to be as gentle as I could. She was blushing and trembling with each movement of my hand, clearly doing her best to endure it. I continued to slowly move my hands across her stomach until all the marks had vanished.

“There we go. Your skin is nice and pretty again. What do you think?”

“Thank you... very much...”

“I’ll do your back next. Please turn over.”

She did as she was told, revealing her heavily scarred back. Obviously, she would turn away in fear when her owners came to hurt her, which was why her back was the worst off. I let out a sigh as I looked at her horrible condition. How could someone do this to a child? I put aside the rage that was welling up within me for the time being, and continued to heal Emilia.

“Have you gotten used to living here yet? I bet it’s tiring dealing with Noel all the time, huh? She’s pretty hyper.”

“I’m used to being here now, yes... I think Noe—um, big sis Noel? She’s very nice.”

She stopped and corrected herself halfway. Noel was probably being a little overbearing.

“Don’t hesitate to tell me if there’s anything wrong, or anything you need. I can’t get you anything too fancy, but I’ll do my best.”

“I-I’m fine. I’m totally satisfied with how things are.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Not only did you save our lives, but you’re even giving us warm food, and beds to sleep in. That’s all we need.”

Her face was still completely emotionless. What she was saying and her expression weren’t in line at all.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Emilia. I know you’re doing your best to keep your emotions in check.”

“Wh-What do you mean...?”

“I’ve seen you crying by yourself many times. Could you tell me what’s wrong?”

Emilia didn’t reply and just looked away. I could tell she wasn’t ready to talk just yet.While I was trying to think of another way to get her to open up to me, I moved my hands up toward an unusual-looking scar on her shoulder. It didn’t look like a whip mark or a bruise, but more like a bite.

“What happened here?”

“No, stop it!”

The moment I touched her shoulder, Emilia jumped up and ran away. She cowered in the corner of the room, desperately clinging to her shoulder.

It obviously upset her a lot, so I gently raised my arms in the air as to show her I didn’t mean any harm. I called out to her in a soft whisper.

“I’m not going to do anything. I’ll stay right here, okay? Do you want to tell me what that wound is from?”

“Don’t... don’t...”

“‘Don’t?’ Don’t heal it, is that what you mean?”

She was breathing heavily, and wasn’t able to speak properly, but nodded in response.

I stood there in silence and watched her for a bit as I waited for her to calm down. Typically, I would have called Noel to come help calm Emilia down, but I didn’t feel like it would help in this case. Instead, I decided to try pushing a bit further.

“Hey, Emilia? Could you tell me who did that to you?”

“Mom.”

“I see. Why did your mom bite you?”

“We have a custom... when you love someone, you bite them...”

Something similar to the way dogs play bite, maybe? My dog in my old life did that a lot.

“Biting someone’s shoulder is... proof of your love for them. Mom bit me, and... jumped into the horde of monsters... and... and...”

Thinking about her mother finally broke her down.

“Why?! Mom, Dad, why?! Why did you leave us?! You told me you loved me! If you loved me, then why won’t you come back?! I can’t take care of Leus by myself! I don’t want to be a big sister! I don’t want to be a family without you! Why did I have to get beaten?! Why did I have to go through so much pain?! I hate this! I... I don’t want any more pain!”

Emilia hugged her knees and balled herself up in the corner as she cried heavily. She had been trying to act strong in front of her brother, but she had clearly been close to her breaking point for a while. She had finally let her emotions through.

“Emilia.”

“No...!”

“Listen, Emilia.”

I slowly walked toward her and knelt down so I could look her in the eyes.

“Was your mother strong like your father? Was she a fighter?”

Emilia shook her head.

“And yet she jumped in to fight the monsters all by herself. Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know...”

I hadn’t seen it happen, but it was clear to me why her mother did what she did.

“She did it to protect you. I know this will be hard and sad, but please—remember what expression she was making when it happened.”

“She was smiling.”

“That’s how much she loved you. Giving her own life didn’t scare her at all if it meant saving you. And that’s why she bit you that hard, too—to prove how much she cared for you.”

“Mom...”

“What was the last thing she said to you?”

“Be strong and live. I love you.”

“Well, then, you have to keep that promise. Be strong, live, and protect your brother.”

“Yes. I’ll protect Leus.”

“Good. Grow stronger, so you can protect him, and live comfortably. I’ll help you.”

“Ugh... Sob, sob.”

Emilia threw herself in my arms and started to sob uncontrollably into my chest. I gently patted her hair. When I first found her, it had been practically brown from all the caked-on dirt. Now, it was back to a beautiful silver.

“I know, you must have been through so much pain. But no one here is going to hurt you. No one will get mad when you cry. You’re safe here.”

“Okay... okay...”

“Keep eating lots, get plenty of sleep, and get stronger. Make your resolve as strong as your mother’s.”

“Yeah... I will.”

“Say whatever’s on your mind. If something happens, come tell me right away.”

“Okay...”

“One day you’ll find out what you want to do in life, and I’ll help you achieve it.”

“Yeah!”

She hugged me even tighter while still crying into my chest.

After she’d gotten it all out of her system, Emilia fell asleep. My clothes were covered in her tears and snot, but seeing her cute face as she slept made it all worth it. I cleaned up her face, then laid her down to sleep in my bed. She definitely didn’t want Leus to see her like that, so I kept her in my room for the night. I quietly left the room, only to be greeted by my servants waiting outside the door. They had probably come to see what was wrong after hearing all that crying. Erina handed over a fresh set of pyjamas, then bowed her head and smiled.

“Good work, Sirius. Now all of her pent up anxiety and stress should be gone. You did well.”

“Yeah, I’m glad it worked.”

There was always a chance her fragile heart wouldn’t be able to bear it any more, and that she’d lose herself completely. The fact that she’d endured it all showed how strong she really was.

Maybe she’d even smile tomorrow? Thinking about the possibility filled me with joyous anticipation. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Suddenly, I noticed Noel watching me.

“You’re a real lady killer, huh, Sirius? I’m sure Emilia will be all over you tomorrow!”

“I was treating her more like a parent would. I wasn’t consoling her with any ulterior motives.”

“That doesn’t matter. Any girl would fall for the guy who consoled them like that!”

“Well, in that case, she’ll forget about those feelings soon enough. Once she starts going through my training program, she’ll learn to hate me.”

“You’re going to do that to her...?! Will you at least hold back? Ugh, doesn’t look like it.”

Noel must have recalled our training sessions, because she went completely pale.

“How are things going with Leus?”

“He had his fair share of troubles to get off his chest, yet not to the same extent as Emilia. He’s sound asleep now.”

“Thank you, Erina. I should be the one handling the both of them, I know...”

“I think I’m more suited to help that boy. Besides, he wants to be doted on so badly. It’s quite cute.”

“True. You’re very suited for a motherly role. I’ve felt like you’re my mom many times myself, after all.”

“Oh?! Th-Thank you very much...”

Erina smiled from ear to ear, then bowed deeply. Was that really something that warranted a thank you? Well, she looked happy, and that’s all that mattered.

“Well, now that Emilia has been taken care of... uh, where should I slee—”

“Use my bed, please!”

Before I could even finish the sentence, Erina cut in.

She spoke up so quickly that even Noel and Dii looked over at her in surprise.

“It’s alright, I can just use the sofa in the living room. If you could get me a blanket, I’ll be fine.”

“I can’t let my master sleep on a couch while I sleep in a bed! I insist, use my bed!”

“I wouldn’t want to bother you, Erina.”

I could tell that she’d been pretty tired lately. I didn’t want to make things any worse. I looked over at the other two, who quickly looked away. Not only that, but a certain cat-eared troublemaker started to whistle awkwardly. She couldn’t even do it right, and barely made any sound.

“... My room is very plain.”

“Oh, I’ll go sleep with Emilia tonight! I don’t want her waking up all alone, you know?”

“So I can use your bed then, Noel?”

“Uh, well... my tail has been shedding a lot lately, so my bed is a complete mess. Fur everywhere, you know?”

They were clearly doing their best to come up with terrible excuses. There was no point in trying to wriggle my way out of it anymore.

“Hey, Erina, let’s sleep together tonight.”

“Of course! I’ll prepare my room at once!”

Erina smiled brightly, then rushed off to her room.

“It’s still a little early, but I’ll go to bed too. I’ll borrow yours, Sirius!”

“Yeah, whatever... I don’t have the energy for this.”

Knowing Erina, she’d probably finish really quickly. I let out a yawn, stretched, and headed toward Erina’s room. Sure enough, the bed was already prepared.

I lay down, and Erina came to join me shortly after. As I lay there, thoughts about the siblings filled my mind. No matter what, I wanted to make sure they didn’t regret becoming my students. I’d do my very best to take care of them until the day we would end up parting.

I decided to go to sleep, but I couldn’t calm down for some reason. I turned over and quickly found the culprit—Erina was watching me with a big smile on her face.

“Umm... I can’t really sleep when you’re staring so much.”

“I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t sleep unless I’m on my side like this.”

“Don’t lie.”

It bothered me, but as long as Erina was happy...

After a while, I managed to fall asleep despite the intent stare I could still feel on the back of my neck.

My day started early in the morning, like usual. I slipped out of bed quietly so as to not wake Erina, then changed into my exercising outfit which I had prepared in the living room. I had plenty of water, then headed outside to start warming up. I started by running back and forth in the backyard, and made sure to be as quiet as possible to avoid waking the people in the house. Then, after warming up, I used “Boost” and rushed into the forest.

Using the trees as an obstacle course, I quickly ran through the forest, past the lake, and over a group of goblins, as I headed toward the tallest mountain in the area. Once there, I canceled “Boost” and started to do more exercises at the peak of the mountain. The thin air there meant the strain from training was much higher, but the result was also much greater than normal. In my old world, this had been called high altitude training. It was one of the ways I’d train in my old life. Actually, it was more like I’d been forced into it. My master forced me up a mountain that was five thousand meters tall. I genuinely thought I would die from that.

After about an hour on the mountain, I called it a day and flew back down. Once I got home, I did a few more light exercises to cool down. That was my usual morning routine. It was only possible thanks to my magic, of course. Without it, the trip to the mountain itself would take at least half a day.

Once I finished my training, Erina would usually be waiting there for me with a towel. But, for some reason, she wasn’t there today. I tilted my head in confusion as a voice called out to me from behind.

“G-Good morning, Sirius.”

I turned around and spotted Emilia. She was holding a cup of water and a clean towel. Although she looked really nervous, I could tell from her eyes that her usual gloom was gone.

“Morning Emilia! Can I have that?”

“Y-Yes! Here you go!”

She watched me wipe my sweat off for a bit, then bowed deeply.

“Sirius, thank you so much for yesterday!”

“How are you feeling?”

“I... still feel sad about Mom and Dad. But other than that, I’m fine now.”

She looked a little embarrassed, though I could tell by the way she spoke that she was much more present now than before.

“Sirius! I want to get strong, like my parents were. So please, help me get stronger!”

“I’ll just say it now, but some of my training methods are really tough. It might even remind you of your days in slavery. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

“I see. Good girl. You’re plenty strong already. Your parents are watching you proudly from the other side, I’m sure.”

“Ah...”

I reached down and patted her head. She tensed up for a second, but then...

“Hehe!”

She smiled for the first time since I found her.

---

---

Her smile was adorable, like a young girl’s should be. I looked down and spotted her tail wagging back and forth like crazy. Curious as to what would happen, I stopped patting her.

“Ah...”

She looked sad, and her tail stopped moving at once. It was just like seeing my old dog, and I got a little carried away as I continued to pat her head for a while. Once I’d finally stopped, Emilia faintly opened her eyes and placed her hands in front of her chest while breathing heavily.

“Sirius...”

It made me remember what Noel had said the night before.

“You’re a real lady killer, huh, Sirius? I’m sure Emilia will be all over you tomorrow!”

I needed a second to sort this out.

I had comforted her, but my intentions had been closer to that of a father than that of a man interested in anything else. Not only that, but I had saved another girl in my old life similar to Emilia. I had taken her under my wing in the same way. She had ended up calling me dad, and really did see me as a father from then on.

So... did Emilia see me as a father, too?

In my old life, I had been in my late 50s when I’d saved a seven year old girl, but now I was in the body of an eight year old. Emilia was nine. Oh no, I’d forgotten! I still looked like a child! She’d never think I’m her father! In her eyes, someone her own age had hugged her and comforted her when she had been at her most vulnerable. When I looked at Emilia’s eyes once again, I thought maybe it wasn’t impossible after all.

I needed to stop getting ahead of myself. It wasn’t like she had professed her love for me, or anything. It was too soon to determine whether or not she had fallen for me. Hopefully, she just saw me as someone to rely on and nothing more. Regardless, the most important thing was that I had gained her trust. Emilia would surely put her past behind her and work hard to get stronger. I’d be there to help her, and that was what mattered.

“I’m sure breakfast will be done any second. Go inside, Emilia.”

“Okay, Sirius!”

Emilia ran off with her tail still wagging.

I went back inside and finished changing. Soon, I spotted Noel watching me with an impish smile, like a kid that had just finished pranking their friend. It irked me, so I decided to punish her a little.

“Meeeow?! E-Emilia is happy, isn’t that what matters?!”

I knew it—she had a hand to play in this.

I was wrestling with the meowing Noel, pushing her down on the ground to punish her further, when Dii finished making breakfast and called us to the kitchen. We were having French toast.

Erina was eating elegantly as per usual, while Dii nodded proudly to himself. The siblings were both stuffing their faces with toast, and even Noel suddenly jumped to her feet like nothing had happened.

When he saw the siblings eat his cooking so zealously, Dii called out to them with a smile.

“Taste good?”

“Yes! I’ve never had something this delicious before!”

“It’s super sweet and tasty! You’re amazing, big bro Dii!”

“Sirius taught me the recipe.”

“Huh?!”

The siblings gasped in surprise, though their expressions were widely different.

The sister was gazing at me with excitement, her eyes sparkling, while her brother looked annoyed.

“In fact, most of what Dii cooks was learned from Sirius.”

“He knows lots of recipes I’ve never heard of.”

“Wow! You’re amazing, Sirius!”

“H-Hmph! It’s not that tasty!”

He just said it was good, but indirectly complimenting me really didn’t sit well with him. I thought maybe I needed to have a talk with him, but Noel cut in before I had time to say anything.

“Hey, Leus! You can’t say stuff like that!”

He clearly hadn’t expected Noel to get upset, because he sat there stunned for a second.

“When something is delicious, you should say so. Here, try some with honey!”

“It’s good.”

“Right? Without Sirius, you’d never be able to eat this, so you’d better apologize!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Good boy! Although it pains me to do so, I’ll reward you with some of my toast too!”

Who was this, and what had she done with the real Noel?

Erina noticed my surprise, and explained,

“She is quite the airhead when it comes to most things, but she’s very good with children. Especially so with these two, since they have similar pasts. She sees them like family already.”

Speaking of—other than me, Noel had been the youngest this whole time. Since I’d been acting like an adult since I’d been born, this was the first time I’d seen her really deal with someone younger than her. It made me see her in a slightly different light.

“Um, big sis Noel, you don’t have to share if you’re that sad about it...”

“No! I have to! I’m the big sister here, it’s my duty!”

“Should I cook more?”

“YES PLEASE!”

Never mind. Same light as always.

After we’d finished breakfast, I had the siblings change into something light and meet me in the backyard. They were still fairly thin, though they had started putting on weight quickly after they were able to eat plenty of food every day. They looked a little nervous, but they still stood firmly in front of me.

“We’ll start with your stamina. Do a few laps in the yard for me.”

The backyard was quite big, so it made for a decent workout by itself.

“That’s easy!”

“How many rounds should we do?”

“Keep going until you can’t stand any more.”

“Huh?!”

“You heard me! Start running, and don’t stop until you collapse! Push yourselves! Don’t worry, we’re here to care for you if you pass out.”

As if on queue, Noel approached with towels in hand and started to wave like a maniac.

“Hi! Nurse Noel reporting for duty!”

She had learned that from me. I ignored Noel and looked back at the siblings. Stamina was both the most basic and the most important thing to train. My old master had been just as harsh with me about it.

“I’ll have you go into a full dash from time to time too, so be ready for that! I’ll be running with you, so don’t worry.”

“D-Don’t be stupid! How can you start by telling us to run until we collapse?!”

“Come on. Let’s start, Leus.”

“Sis?!”

Leus froze up in surprise, but Emilia just started to run.

“I’m going to follow Sirius. I’ll run even if you don’t, Leus.”

“F-Fine! I’ll run too! But I won’t accept that guy!”

“Don’t talk about your master that way! Be more polite!”

“Tch! Damn master!”

Leus started to sprint right away, and Emilia smiled wryly before running after him. They were obviously pushing themselves too fast from the start, but they were in it together, so I let them. After an hour of running, both of them collapsed.

“How many laps was that?”

“Haah, haah, ahh...”

“Ugh...”

Noel walked over and handed them some water as she nodded to herself.

“I get you guys—I’ve been through this, too. Don’t worry, you did great. It’s just Sirius who’s a maniac.”

Noel talked to the siblings about her experience training with me, even though it had only been three days before she’d quit. Regardless, I continued to run while I waited for them to get some strength back.

“Sirius, they’re fine now.”

After a little while, Noel called out to me. I did one final sprint around the yard before I headed to Emilia and Leus.

“How did it feel to test out your body’s limit? It’s okay, you don’t have to respond. Don’t push yourselves.”

Emilia was covered in sweat, and her hair clung to her skin. She barely managed to look up at me. Meanwhile, Leus lay motionless on the ground and looked as pale as a ghost. If I didn't know any better, I’d say he was dead. I could see his chest rising and dropping from breathing, though, so I knew he was fine.

“Rest while you can, you two. Once you get some energy back, we’ll keep running until lunch.”

Both of the exhausted siblings began to tremble. They probably wanted to complain, but didn’t seem to have the energy to do so.

“Umm, Sirius, aren’t you being a bit tough on them?”

“What do you mean? I’m letting them rest, aren’t I? Don’t worry, people are tougher than you think.”

“I’m sorry for being such a useless big sister.”

While it didn’t look like it, I was actually holding back on them a little. My master wouldn’t even give me short breaks to rest. If I started slacking, he’d start shooting me with rubber bullets. In other words, I was pretty much forced to learn how to gather my strength just enough whenever I did get to rest, regardless of how short it was.

Anyway, I had gotten a good grasp of the siblings’ limits now. Now I just had to keep giving them both painfully hard work and plentiful rest to make sure they didn't break. Hard work should be rewarded, though. I had the stick, now I needed the carrot.

What kind of carrot would be good for them? The only thing I could think of was to make a delicious meal for them.

“Is there something you guys want for lunch?”

“I want that cutlet sandwich stuff you made me before!”

“Me too... please!”

“M-Me too...!”

Maybe that was the perfect reward, after all; a certain cat enthusiastically joined in, too. Were all demi-humans food freaks?

After I let them rest for a while longer, I got them to their feet and had them run again. This time, I didn’t plan to wait for them to collapse. I kept pushing them, though. Even when their running had turned to a sluggish walk, I still had them go. Don't stop moving, no matter what. They looked thoroughly worn out, but didn’t complain at all. I was pretty impressed. I was expecting Leus to complain, like usual, but he actually kept quiet and followed his sister the whole time.

Finally, it was lunch time. I nodded in satisfaction as I watched the two siblings fall to the ground from exhaustion.

“Thanks for the food!”

I was expecting them to lose their appetite from all that running, but they both stuffed their faces with sandwiches. It was good to see their stomachs had adjusted to eating on a regular basis. No matter what, getting enough food was extremely important.

I left the dishes to Erina and the others and handed the siblings a drink I had made.

“Um, what is this? The color is really weird...”

It was a green liquid with various other colors—like white and red—spread throughout it. It probably looked very fishy, so I got why Emilia looked concerned about it.

“This has all the nutrients you didn’t get from the food, so drink up.”

“Nutrient? What is that?! As if I’d drink that thing!”

“Just drink!”

I had made the drink by extracting the juices out of various vegetables and fruits. I added honey, too, so hopefully the taste wasn’t too bad.

They drank it. While they obviously didn't like the taste, they finished it all. As a reward, I gave them some pudding.

“Yaay!”

The cat snuck in between them yet again, but I just let her have her way.

After dessert, I gave the siblings their next assignment.

“Now, go nap.”

“Nap?”

They both tilted their heads in surprise. It was obvious they hadn’t expected the man who had just made them run until they’d nearly passed out to be so kind.

“Yes, nap. When you wake up, you’ll go study with Erina.”

I wanted to train them, but I couldn’t neglect their general studying, either. That’s why I had Erina teach them too. The reason I told them to take a nap first was to make sure they were refreshed for studying. I wanted to make sure they actually got some benefit from it.

“Here, sleep on the couch.”

Sleeping right after a meal might not have been a good idea diet wise, but that just made it even better for the two thin siblings—they had to put on some fat before they could build muscle.

“Sleep now? Just like that?”

“It’s important to rest when you can. I’ll sit with you, so please go to sleep next to me.”

They did as I said by lying down on the couch.

“What’s wrong, Leus? Not going to sleep?”

“I can’t fall asleep just like that; I already told you!”

“All right. Here, look at my finger—I’ll help you. Look closely at my finger, and you’ll grow sleepy.”

I started to move my finger back and forth in front of his eyes, and saw his eyelids slowly start to close.

“When I snap my fingers, you’re going to fall asleep. Three, two, one...”

And sure enough, as I snapped my fingers, Leus fell right asleep.

It was a pretty simple suggestion technique, and it worked well on young children—especially tired ones.

Emilia was still looking up at me like there was something she wanted before she slept.

“What’s wrong? Can’t sleep? You’re not going to get any rest if you just stare at me all day.”

“Umm... can you pat my head? Please.”

“Oh, all right.”

“Hehe.”

I started to pat her head. Emilia flashed a radiant smile, then closed her eyes. After just a few seconds, she seemed to have fallen asleep, too.

“You sure got them to sleep fast. You’ve got magic hands, I tell you.”

“They were exhausted. All they needed to do was relax and they fell asleep right away.”

I placed my hand on their heads and started to gently funnel some of my mana into them; this was to help their bodies recover faster. I was careful to make sure I didn’t wake them.

After a while, Erina walked over with some tea.

“Good work. It will be my turn once they wake up, right?”

“Yes, thank you. I was pretty tough on them earlier, so try to be gentle.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll shape them into perfect servants in no time.”

“You don’t have to go that far. Just teach them a little...”

“Being a servant is a position to be proud of. At this rate, I’d think they’ll become servants here soon enough. Don’t you agree?”

Noel nodded along with Erina as she looked down at the sleeping siblings.

“Emilia especially. I’ve heard her say she wants to be of use to you countless times already.”

“Hey, Noel. This girl is just looking up to me, okay? She’s not in love with me, or anything. And even that might go away soon enough once she’s been through more of my training.”

I planned on having them do mock battles, magic training, and obstacle courses.

“You underestimate the power of a young girl’s heart, Sirius! Love won’t yield, no matter what!”

“You’ve been reading too many romance novels. Anyways, I’m more worried about Leus.”

“Indeed. He has shared some of his troubles with me, but he’s still pretty unstable.”

Erina nodded in agreement; but, for some reason, Noel tilted her head instead.

“Unstable? I think he’s doing fine.”

“Listen, Noel—these two have nothing but each other left. Nothing at all. Even if they seem fine, it wouldn’t take much to change that.”

“Well, of course. They love each other!”

“It’s more complicated than that. Right now, Emilia is everything Leus has. If she were to leave, he’d chase after her. If something were to happen to her, his mind would utterly collapse. That’s what makes him unstable for the time being.”

“Emilia is doing her best to find a new purpose in life, but Leus is still just chasing after his sister.”

No doubt the reason he had been lashing out at me so much was because of jealousy. He hated seeing anyone else—especially another guy such as myself—getting close to his beloved sister.

“He might seem fine now, but once he grows up, and Emilia wants to go her own way, he’ll be lost. He needs to find his own path before then. If not...”

“Yeah. We have to find something for him, and soon.”

We only had two years left at the house before we were to be kicked out. I was going to school after that, but we had to figure out what to do with the siblings once that happened.

Noel watched as Erina and I were deep in thought, then burst out laughing.

“Haha, you two sound like parents!”

“At my age? Shouldn’t I at least be their big brother or something?”

“In that case, I’d be your mother, Sirius. How wonderful...”

I had to smile as I watched Erina close her eyes. She was probably fantasizing about that scenario. After about an hour, I decided to wake the siblings up.

“That’s weird, my body doesn’t hurt.”

“Same here. I feel really light.”

“I’ll tell you how I did that sometime. For now, study.”

The two of them got up and looked at their own bodies in confusion, while I pointed over to Erina to have her start the class.

“Let us start with learning how to be a good servant. Specifically, mannerism.”

“Okay, Ms. Erina!”

“Sure...”

“Leus, I’m your teacher right now. Address me more respectfully.”

“Ugh... O-Okay, Ms. Erina!”

She’s good. Erina was the most gentle and kindest person I knew. When it came to teaching, though, she got really strict, and Leus instantly did as he was told.

“The most important trait for a servant who remains at their master’s side is devotion. You’ll understand one day when you meet a master you want to serve yourselves.”

“I see!”

“Ugh...”

They reacted very differently to the word “master.” While Emilia nodded along excitedly, Leus looked annoyed at the idea. Erina acted quickly, though.

“Leus. Even if you don’t agree with something, that’s no proper way to act. At least say you disagree or don’t understand respectfully.”

“But I never said I wanted to be a servant... Um, so I don’t understand what you mean.”

“That’s better. Well, when I say ‘master,’ it doesn’t have to be Sirius, of course. And there’s no one telling you that you must become a servant, either. Regardless, I want you to learn. You definitely need to work on your manners.”

Leus didn’t seem totally convinced, but Erina continued.

“Especially the way you talk. It’s very important if you want to make a good impression to know how to speak politely. Leus, do you remember how the people who treated you poorly spoke to you?”

“I don’t remember much, but... they were really rude and gross...”

“That’s because they were likely uneducated people who’d never been taught how to act by anyone. Do you want to end up like them?”

That probably made Leus remember some of what happened during his time as a slave, as he looked really uncomfortable. He shook his head silently.

“Then study. Take it seriously, but don’t rush. Just go at your own pace and learn.”

“Okay, Ms. Erina!”

“There you go. Good boy.”

She instantly returned to her usual, kind self when she complimented her students. She patted his head, which made Leus smile blissfully.

“Working on the way you speak is essential. But let me show you some other important points that any servant should know.”

Erina got up and started showing various mannerisms that were important for servants.

I saw her work on a daily basis, but I was still amazed at her elegance. She walked primly, without making a sound; she bowed flawlessly and carried cups of water without spilling a drop.

The siblings both watched Erina in awe, clearly amazed by her professionalism.

Emilia looked like she had found her calling, while Leus looked impressed.

“Those are the basics. Let’s have you try.”

“Okay!”

They excitedly got up and tried to copy Erina. Of course, they failed terribly—their footsteps were too loud, and their bowing was totally off. Erina patiently limited herself to pointing out the things they could improve on, and used herself as an example when needed.

I felt like I could help with the walking part, so I decided to join in. My ability to completely silence my footsteps impressed them, though I kept out the part about it being something I learned for assassinations instead of cleaning.

Erina’s class continued until they had mastered the general idea of a servant’s mannerism.

“That’s enough for today. Let’s continue to work hard every day—that way, you’ll master this in no time.”

“Thank you, teacher!”

Their class with Erina was over, but they still had more lined up. I was about to suggest taking a short break first, but Noel beat me to it.

“Good work, you two! Here’re some sweets. Let’s eat and relax for a bit!”

She had made some cakes that I had taught her how to bake. The kids stared at them like starved animals, but they still behaved themselves. They didn’t touch their plates until Erina and I had sat down with them.

I thanked Noel and sipped my tea. Erina also took a sip of her tea, then looked at the siblings and spoke up.

“I’ll have to teach you how to make tea one day, too. Oh, Sirius, do you mind if I teach them how to make your blend?”

“You don’t need my permission for that.”

“No, I do. Your tea is truly much tastier than any I’ve had before. Teaching someone else such a wonderful recipe definitely calls for the permission of whoever it was learned from.”

“Is Sirius that good at making tea?”

Emilia looked over at us while her ears twitched in excitement.

“He is indeed. I was pretty confident in my own tea-making skills, but he is miles ahead of me.”

“You really are good at just about everything, Sirius. You even do stuff I’ve never taught you better than me. Where did you learn that stuff?”

“I just know how to do it from observing, I guess.”

“Huh?!”

Noel and Leus both looked over at me with a mixture of envy and suspicion.

“Then do the stuff Erina just showed us. Erina, grade him please.”

“What an honor.”

I did what they asked and showed them everything Erina had just taught the kids. I had learned all sorts of manners from watching Erina, and knew just how to do it now. I was good at being quiet and subtle in my old life, so it was fairly easy to apply it to manners instead of combat. The ability to imitate someone was a pretty basic skill that came in handy in fighting, after all. In the end, though, it was just an imitation—I wasn’t nearly as skilled as someone like Erina, who’d been doing it for years.

I finished the show by gracefully pouring some more tea, then bowing.

“Absolutely perfect. I’m so proud.”

“Ack... why do I feel like I’ve just lost something?! Well, you’re our master, not a rival, so I guess it’s fine. Luckily, Emilia still has a long way to g—”

“Oh, so you should move your leg like this. How is this?”

“What a diligent student. You were saying, Noel?”

“D-Damnit! I’ll go train and show you just how skilled I am! You’re 10 years too early to be showing off to me! I’ll show you who the big sister is!”

Noel, who sounded like a defeated villain straight out of a cartoon, rushed out of the living room. I let out a sigh, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

“Sis, you like that guy that much...?”

After their break, it was on to the next class.

Their next lesson was in reading, writing, and basic math—things that would be essential to get by on their own in life. I was working together with Erina to teach them.

“Math and writing are both extremely important. Do you know why?”

“Nope. Uh, I mean... No, Ms. Erina.”

“Leus. We didn’t know any of that, and see what happened to us?”

“Yeah, we got tricked.”

“Exactly. So these basic—but important—skills will help you from getting tricked in the future.”

No matter how physically strong you were, you won’t get far without basic reading and math skills. You would have no idea if the form you were signing was actually meant to exploit you, for instance.

“People end up being tricked into slavery because they don’t understand what they’ve signed.”

“Ugh...”

Since he’d experienced just how tough that life was, Leus instantly grew obedient when he heard that example. I didn’t want to keep reminding him of his painful past, but, at the same time, I wanted him to learn from it. He needed to respect how fragile his life was without the proper knowledge and skills.

“That’s why you’ll study and learn how to protect yourself and those you love. Even knowledge is a form of strength, after all.”

“What a wonderful way of thinking! Please teach me to write too!”

“That’s a good response, Emilia. Let’s start with something simple, like your name.”

“Okay! I’ll do my best!”

“Leus, this is how your name is written.”

“Like this?”

“That’s right. Good work, you two.”

We used a simple alphabet chart and our own writing examples to teach the two. In the beginning, it would just be a lot of repetition to memorize the letters, but I’d have them learn important everyday words soon enough.

After we finished with the alphabet, we moved over to math. I decided to teach them how to count to a hundred, as well as some basic subtraction. I also showed them some money, then had them pretend to buy something from me with it.

“One cutlet sandwich is three iron coins. If you buy two sandwiches with this money, how much change will you have left?”

The currency here consisted of coins made from different materials. Their values weren’t as easy to understand as they were in my old world, but this was the general conversion:

One stone coin was one yen.

One iron coin was fifty.

One copper was five hundred.

One silver was five thousand.

One gold was one hundred thousand.

There were coins with more value than the golden ones, though getting my hands on one of those seemed to be completely impossible. I chose to omit them entirely.

A handful of silver coins were enough to feed a family of four for about a month. Depending on where you went for your shopping, there would always be bartering and such, so the prices were never set in stone—that was just a general estimate.

I started to teach them by “selling” them cutlet sandwiches. I told them that if they did the math right, they’d be able to “buy” and eat them.

“Umm, one copper is, uh... how many iron...?”

Emilia did her best to figure out how much she would get back, while Leus just handed me the coin.

“Give me as many as you got. I’ll eat them all.”

“Okay, here’s your change—the Iron Claw.”

“Huh? Iron... Claw? Isn’t that what you do to Noel?! No, stop! Anything but that!”

“Well, as long as you don’t do anything silly again. This whole exercise is about math. Skipping it defeats the point.”

Erina seemed surprised by that development too, and smiled to herself while she watched us. Leus looked sorry and went back to trying to do the math. After a few seconds, he dropped his head down on the desk in defeat.

“I got it! Huh? Leus? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t mind him. So, how much should you get back?”

“Five iron!”

“Good job! Here are your sandwiches.”

Emilia accepted them and instantly handed one over to Leus.

“Sis... but I got mine wrong.”

“It’s okay. There’re two, so let’s share.”

Leus looked over at us, but we pretended to be busy with something else to avoid ruining the moment.

The two of them happily bit into their sandwiches.

“These are delicious even when cold! Next time, you should get yours right, too. That way we can get more.”

“Yeah!”

It was nice to see them getting along so well, but I was a little concerned about Leus’s overreliance on his sister. It would likely be tough if I forced him to change too soon, but I needed to start eventually...

They looked pretty happy while they ate their sandwiches, but their training wasn’t over yet.

“Eat up and rest for a bit. After that, we’ll go out and run again.”

“Huuuh?!”

I had them both run until the sun set.

| Leus |

Sis had been acting strange recently. She’d gotten really obsessed with this human.

Humans had always been mean to us. They would hit us, and wouldn’t stop even if we would beg them to. They would never feed us anything, and treated us like animals.

But Sirius was different. He didn’t hit us, and gave us lots of delicious food. If we ever got hurt, he would instantly come to help.

Sis said he reminded her of Dad, but I didn’t think so at all. Dad was a proud and strong man who’d always watched over us. If we did something wrong, he’d scold us, but lovingly.

But this human wasn’t like that. He would suddenly appear next to us, and if we ever did something bad, he would just get mad. He wasn’t like Dad at all.

So why was Sis so obsessed with him?

She always blushed and looked all happy when he did something. I hated it when that happened.

I did love his servant, Erina, though. She patted my head a lot. Whenever she hugged me, she smelled just like Mom.

Big sis Noel was really loud, but she was really fun. I loved her, too.

Big bro Dii had really scary eyes, but he always made great food. If I ever looked hungry, he’d sneak me some bread or something. He was great.

But all of them kept saying that guy was so amazing. He was amazing, sure. He knew everything, and no matter how fast I ran I couldn’t beat him at all.

Dad had always said I should look up to anyone stronger than me, but I didn’t want to look up to that guy. I hated him. I didn’t know why, but I hated him!

We had been running constantly since he’d saved us.After we woke up, we ran. After breakfast, we ran. After lunch, we had to study... but then we ran.

Sis never complained, but I was tired of it. When I told him I wanted to do something else, he said he would let me if I beat him at a race once. But I couldn’t beat him no matter how hard I tried. I’d lost today too. But next time, I would win for sure! I’d copy the way he ran and surprise him by beating him!

Lunch had been especially delicious....I hated that he was the one who made it, but I guess I could compliment his cooking.

After lunch, we started to study. It was Erina’s turn to teach us. She was usually so nice and gentle, but she’d get all strict when she was teaching us. Erina was really cool—she could eat without making a sound, and basically knew what I was thinking before I did. How did she do that?

She kept saying that I could do all the stuff she does easily once I found a master I wanted to serve, but I didn’t want to serve that guy. Sis did, though, and she was doing her best.

I liked to do my best around Erina. She always complimented me when I did. It made me want to do even better to get more praise from her.

After that, we studied math and stuff. You would take numbers and subtract them from each other. It was really hard. It made my head hurt. But if we learned how to do this, we wouldn’t be tricked by those slave people again. That was why I was trying really hard to learn.

After we finished the questions on the paper they gave us, we had to pretend to go shopping. If we got it right, we could keep what we bought. The item of the day was the pudding big sis Noel and I loved. I would definitely get it right so I could eat it!

“If one cup of pudding costs one iron coin and ten stone coins, how much would you get back?”

“I know, I know! Five iron and ten stone!”

Noel suddenly showed up and stuffed her face with pudding. She was as hyper as ever.

“Forget that... Okay, if one costs one iron and twenty stone, how much do you get back if you buy five?”

He changed the question. Okay, I needed to look at the chart he’d given us for currencies and think. It said one copper was ten iron, so... uh?

“Sirius, is this right?”

“Good job! Here’s your pudding.”

Sis had gotten it already. She was so good at this.

“I like pudding, but I’d like some head pats even more...”

“Oh, all right. Here.”

“Hehe.”

There was that feeling again. Why did that keep happening?

“Leus. Calm down and think about how to solve the question.”

Erina gently patted my head, which helped me calm down.

I had to do mine quickly to eat with Sis!

Um, fifty stone is one iron, so...

“You get three iron back...”

“Good job! You did great solving that all on your own.”

I got the pudding—which was good—but he also patted my head, which annoyed me a little. At the same time, I didn’t feel like swatting his hand away either. I didn’t really get my feelings.

“Leus, this is delicious!”

“Yeah!”

I didn’t know why I felt like this, but the pudding was so good that I didn’t really care at that moment.

It was nighttime, and I was struggling to fall asleep once again. I felt an annoying pain in my chest all the time, so I couldn’t sleep. Plus, I was thirsty again. I decided to get out of bed without waking Sis and have a drink. But, for some reason, I also wanted to go outside.

My chest still felt weird. Suddenly, I was outside and looking up at the sky toward the moon.

The moon was so pretty that I couldn’t stop staring at it. My body was all hot. Why did I feel so... strong suddenly? What was happening?

Sis, I... I don’t like this. I hate it... Make it stop...

| Sirius |

Emilia came down to see me after they had finished their evening practice and had gotten ready for bed.

“Leus is acting strange...”

“He did look a little off today. Did something happen?”

“Well, last night, I woke up in the middle of the night, and he wasn’t there with me.

He returned after a little while, but he ran back into the room and jumped under the covers.”

“That is strange. What happened after that?”

“He looked fine again this morning, but when I asked him about it, he didn’t want to tell me anything. Then he got mad and told me not to tell you anything.”

“I see. I wish you would have told me earlier.”

“I-I’m sorry! But he was so desperate to keep it a secret, I...”

Her love for him kept her from saying it right away, huh? She looked quite concerned, so I needed to talk to Leus right away.

“Call Erina and Leus here, please. Hopefully having Erina here will make things easier.”

“Okay.”

As Emilia left to call them, I started to think about how Leus had acted earlier. His appetite had been normal, but he hadn’t gotten upset with me, for some reason. Usually, he’d be glaring at me at the very least, but he almost looked scared instead. I noticed something and was about to use “Search” when I was interrupted.

“Sirius!”

Emilia came rushing into my room with tears forming in her eyes. She had some kind of paper in her hand.

“Leus is... Leus is gone! He left!”

I instantly had everyone gather upstairs. Looking at the paper Emilia had been carrying, I read the awkwardly written letters out loud.

“Take care of Sis. Goodbye.”

I looked over at the others.

“What do you guys think happened? He doesn’t seem like someone who’d run away just because he’s tired from training or something.

“I agree. He’s not like that at all.”

“Agreed!”

“Me too.”

I looked over at Emilia, who knew Leus best. She just shook her head desperately while tears streamed down her face.

“Emilia, please—did Leus show any signs of not liking it here?”

“No... everyone is so nice. He was really happy. He wouldn’t... run away like that...”

“Okay. So there’s something else at play here. It must be whatever happened last night, then.”

“What do you mean?”

I explained what Emilia had told me to the others.

“I have to find him and ask him myself.”

“Good, Sirius! Go bring him back!”

“No, I’m going to ask him why he left. I know where he is, so I’ll get there quick.”

I had already found him by using “Search,” but I hadn’t retrieved him instantly for a simple reason—if he really left by his own will, I would respect that.

The most important thing that I wanted my students to do was to find their own purpose and follow it. If he had really chosen to leave, it was not my business to tell him he couldn’t.

“Sirius, your sword.”

Erina handed me the belt with my sword and knife, and gazed at me in worry. I smiled back as an answer, which made her expression loosen up a little.

While I was putting the belt on, Emilia rushed over to me and bowed.

“Please... take me with you!”

“Erina.”

“Of course. Here, put this on.”

“Huh?”

Erina quickly brought Emilia some clothes to change into, but the young girl just stared at them in confusion.

“Come on. Change. Quickly.”

“Huh? But... I thought you’d say no. Won’t this be dangerous? Are you sure I can come?”

“You’re his sister, so of course you can come. You need to hear what he has to say on the matter.”

“Thank you so much!”

She bowed once again, but it was still too early for that. I looked over at Noel for help, and she quickly stepped in.

“Got it! Emilia, let’s save the crying for later and change quickly!”

“Okay!”

I looked over at Dii and Erina.

“He might have been attacked by something. Prepare some medicine and whatever else he might need.”

“Of course. We’ll be waiting for your return.”

I walked over to the front door, and Emilia quickly followed behind me. She was wearing a set of firmly woven pants and a coat—the standard adventurer gear.

“I’m here!”

“Okay, let’s go. Emilia, get on my back.”

“O-Okay... here I go.”

Emilia hesitated for a second, then climbed up on my back. I used “String” to tie her to me and followed it up with “Boost.”

“Make sure you stay still, so the string doesn’t wrap around your neck. All right, let’s go.”

“L-Let’s go!”

“Good luck!”

All the servants saw us off as I jumped into the air.

“Are you scared?”

“I-I’m fine! You can go faster. Just... get me to Leus.”

“I get that you’re worried, but please try to stay calm. Look, see how pretty the moon is? Focus on that for now.”

“W-Wow, it’s... beautiful.”

Emilia seemed to calm down a little after she saw the moon. She remained silent for a while, then spoke up again.

“I wonder if Leus is watching the moon too... he’s so hopeless.”

“He is. His reason for running away had better be good. Otherwise, I’m going to smack him.”

“I’ll slap his cheek, don’t worry.”

“That’s the spirit. Okay, I’m going to go a little faster.”

“Okay!”

After I arrived at the lake where I had looked for mana leaves a few years back, I slowed down. I made sure there were no monsters around by using “Search,” then set Emilia down and started to scan the area.

“Leus! Where are you?!”

“Shh. Don’t be too loud.”

While there were no monsters nearby at the moment, her yelling could attract some. It would be bad if they started to show up.

“But Leus is all alone...”

“Don’t worry, he’s right over there.”

I pointed over to the opposite side of the lake, where Leus was sitting.

Emilia looked relieved. She was about to rush over to him, but—

“STAY AWAY!”

Leus shouted in a voice I’d never heard him use with his sister before.

“L-Leus? What’s wrong? It’s me! Come on, let’s go home. Okay?”

“I told you to stay away!”

Emilia was clearly shocked, but she stayed resolute and continued to talk.

“What’s wrong, Leus? We said we’d stay strong together, didn’t we? Why would you run away on your own instead of talking to me?! What if something happened to you?!”

“I’m fine! I’ve been running a lot, and I’m stronger now! Plus, I know math and how to read! I’ll be fine on my own!”

“Don’t be stupid! It hasn’t been that long. You’re not ready at all!”

“I am! I’m really strong now!”

This wasn’t going anywhere, so I tapped Emilia on the shoulder. She shook her head in desperation as tears streamed down her face.

“I’m sorry! I’ll convince him right away! Please, don’t leave my brother!”

“You’re too worked up. This isn’t going to lead anywhere. Let me handle it from here.”

“Okay.”

I approached Leus by walking forward slowly. How would I get him to come back home?

“Leus. What are you doing over there all by yourself?”

“None of your business!”

“Of course it is. I’m the one housing you guys, and your teacher. When one of my students seems troubled, I want to help.”

“I don’t want to be your student!”

He had never admitted to being my student, even though he had been going along with my exercise plans and so on just fine.

“Well, that’s all right. But I am the person who’s been feeding you, teaching you, and giving you a warm place to sleep at night. I should at least be allowed to ask what’s wrong, right?”

He didn’t reply.

“Come on, Leus—answer me. Why did you leave? That little note isn’t enough to just let you go.”

“I’m... stronger now.”

“From a bit of running? Don’t be silly. It’s good for you, yes, but it’s far too early for any serious improvement.”

Leus got up and shouted.

“I’m much stronger than before now! Just take Sis and go back!”

“Is that so? You lost to me today, too, didn’t you? If getting stronger means being able to shout louder, then you need to grow up, Leus.”

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut uuuup!”

He had been pretty unstable when we’d taken him in due to his past trauma, but Erina had been making good progress with that recently. Being fed well and having a safe place to sleep at night had clearly helped, too. This was different than his trauma—something was definitely off.

“What?! Why are you still here?! Go home! If you don’t, I’ll... I’ll force you!”

Leus tensed up while he continued to cry. Just then, the dim moonlight hit Leus’s hair, and it started to grow longer.

“Leus?! No... it can’t be...”

Emilia jumped up with a terrified expression as Leus’s transformation continued. It wasn’t just that his hair was getting longer—he was growing fur all over his body. His nose grew into a snout, and before long, he had turned into a literal wolf that walked on two legs. The only proof left that he was once Leus were the torn clothes on his body.

“It can’t be... Leus is a cursed child?”

“Cursed? What’s going on, Emilia?”

“It’s a rare condition in our tribe... they call it cursed children. They are said to bring misfortune and destruction, so... they’re killed as soon as they are discovered.”

Silver wolves were incredibly loving and faithful towards their own, so I had not expected them to have such a grim law. The world was truly full of mystery.

“Two years ago, there was a cursed child in our village. It went berserk and attacked us, so my dad jumped in and...”

“Killed him. Right in front of you guys?”

“Yes.”

Things started to make sense.

Leus had found out that he was a cursed child and must have been terrified, since he knew what came of them. Without the courage to take his own life, he fled from the house to keep his sister safe. I guessed it was something along those lines, at least.

“Look at me! I’m a monster! I can’t be near you, Sis! So please, go home!”

“NO! Don’t talk like that, Leus! I can’t leave you here...”

“It’s okay, Sis. I’m fine on my own now. I’m super strong like this.”

“No! Don’t... don’t leave me all alone...!”

Emilia fell to the ground as she sobbed. She was clearly panicked at the thought of losing her last living family member.

I looked at the two of them, shook my head, and snorted loudly.

“Hmph! This is stupid!”

“Huh?! S-Sirius...?”

“What did you just say, you bastard?!”

“You heard me. You guys are being ridiculous. It’s totally stupid.”

Emilia looked hurt by that comment, but I ignored her and pointed to Leus.

“Okay, Leus—fight me. If you can beat me, then I’ll let you do whatever you want. If you lose, you have to listen to what I tell you, no matter what.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?! You told me I can do whatever I want, so that’s what I’m doing! Why are you trying to stop me?!”

“Because I know you’re lying. This isn’t what you want at all.”

Of course I wanted him to find his own purpose in life, but I also felt responsible for him. What if, for example, he wanted to leave to be with a girl, but she was actually taking advantage of him? Well, then I’d smack him and say “no,” of course.

“You said you’re strong now, right? Fight me and prove it, then.”

I removed my sword belt and threw it to the side.

Leus let out a howl, held his fist out, and started to sprint toward me.

“You’re always looking down on me! I’ll show you!”

His eyes lit up with anger as he rushed toward me in his wolf form.

“Take this!”

He swung his fist at me. While I had planned on simply blocking it with my own, he had been much faster than I had anticipated, and I had to twist myself out of the way. Right after the first punch, he followed up with another. I dodged that one by leaning forward, and struck him back in the stomach in the process.

“That doesn’t hurt at all!”

His tough muscles absorbed most of the impact. He smiled arrogantly as I took a few steps back to gain some distance.

“How’s that?! I’m strong, see?”

“You’ve gotten stronger, yes, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t hit me.”

“You won’t be acting tough for long! I won’t forgive you, even when you say you’re sorry!”

Leus charged at me again, and started to unleash a flurry of blows my way. I was only able to barely escape his fists as I walked backward.

He fired off a powerful straight punch, but I jumped out of the way. His punch landed on the tree that had been behind me and broke clean through.

“Tch, stop running! You look down at me all the time, but all you can do is run?!”

“Talk big after you win, not during the fight.”

I countered with another solid punch to his gut, but his muscles felt like stone.

“It doesn’t hurt at all! I’m too strong!”

He tried to hit me again, but I swiftly moved out of the way and hit him right in the solar plexus. While his muscles blocked the majority of the hit, he still stumbled back and fell from the impact.

“Hahaha! I don’t even feel it! I’m going to beat you! Just give up!”

He got back up and fired off another flurry of blows. His punches had broken a tree in half, so I would have definitely been in trouble if I’d gotten hit. That was if I’d gotten hit.

“Amateur.”

I could read his movements like an open book. I easily avoided an oncoming punch, grabbed his neck, pulled him toward me, and kicked him in the face.

He went flying and did several loops in the air before he crashed into the ground.

“Agh?! Wh-What...?!”

It was a violent technique that used the opponent’s momentum against them. Usually, they’d never know what had hit them. It was very dangerous to use it on an amateur, but I’d held back enough that it wouldn’t hurt him too bad.

It was meant to be more of a way to scare him off than to actually hurt him. He quickly got up again and stared at me in shock.

“You might be fast and strong, but your technique is terrible. You're just a brat.”

His punches had all been straight, without a single feint, or any type of technique to throw the opponent off. It couldn't have even been called fighting.

“Damnit!”

He still looked a little wobbly, but he stood up and rushed at me yet again. I had to compliment his resilience, but that was about the only thing he had going for him. He kept trying to hit my head, which made his punches incredibly easy to dodge.

I didn't even have to move more than my neck before I’d retaliate with a punch of my own.

“I told you, it doesn't hurt at al—agh?!”

Leus staggered back in confusion, then threw up.

I had been fighting him normally, just to see just how much he could take. The punch I’d just thrown was the first time I’d used “Boost” during the whole fight. I knew he wouldn't die from it, so I decided to end things quickly.

“Agh?! Hah, y-you got lucky!”

He really was an amateur. Instead of backing off to calm down, he just kept going. I easily swerved his attacks, kicked his feet, grabbed him mid-air, and slammed him to the ground.

“Are you sure you can get anywhere by yourself with that strength, Leus?”

“I'm... not done... yet...”

He rose to his feet yet again. He was wobbling even worse than before, but he still tried to attack me. This time, he tried to throw faster, less powerful punches, but I was able to read them all with ease. I'd parry and hit him back, then repeat the process. But no matter how many times I avoided him and hit him back, he refused to give up. He was crying heavily and clearly in a lot of pain.

“Why... can't I... hit you? Why... won't you go down?”

“A brat like you couldn't beat me in a million years.”

“Just... do it. Let me win... Just... let me go.”

“Do you really want to go?”

“I have to. Can't... be here. I shouldn't be...”

He barely had the strength left to stand, yet he kept trying to punch me. I hit him one last time, which sent him crashing to the ground.

There was blood dripping from his mouth where I’d hit him, but he somehow managed to force himself back up. But that was it—he didn't move. He just stood there and stared at me. His eyes were filled with fear. They were the eyes of a child scared of the big bad monster in front of them.

“I’ll ask this one last time. Do you really want to leave your sister and go?”

“Yes... I have to... or I’ll bring her misfortune!”

He used all the energy he had left in him for one final punch. I didn’t even have to dodge that one—it was like being hit by a puff of air.

As Leus started to collapse, I grabbed his body and held him up.

“Leus, look at me.”

“Do I look like a silver wolf to you?”

“No.”

“That’s right. I’m just a human. I don’t care about this cursed nonsense. You are just a brat to me, fur or no fur. If anything, I think raising you will be even more interesting now.”

“Huh? Ah?”

“I don’t care about a stupid law that says kids should be killed just because they can do this! If someone comes along and tells me to hurt you because of that I’ll knock his teeth out.”

I looked over to Emilia this time.

“What do you think? Do you want Leus dead because of his 'curse?’”

A shiver ran through her upon hearing the word “dead,” and she quickly shook her head.

“That’s right. That’s why you didn’t know what to do earlier, right? Now say it out loud. What do you want, Emilia?”

“I... I don’t want to lose Leus! I don’t want anyone to hurt him! I want to be with him! I don’t care about those stupid laws!”

She finally managed to collect herself enough to say what was on her mind.

I looked back to Leus again.

“Did you hear that? She doesn’t care about this curse. So, Leus, what do you want? Do you really want to leave her?”

“N-No...”

Leus wiped away the snot and tears across his bruised face. As his body started to return to normal, he also began to weep uncontrollably.

“No! No, no, no! I don’t want to be alone! I don’t want to leave Sis ever again! I want Erina to pat my head! I want to play with big sis Noel! I want to eat big bro Dii’s cooking! I don’t want to leave! I want to go home!”

That was it. Kids should say what was on their mind. It was only when you grew up that you needed to start thinking about keeping some of it in—that was the beauty of being a kid.

It was a struggle, but I had finally managed to calm Leus down and got him to say what he really wanted.

I handed him over to Emilia and watched as they wept and hugged.

“Leus... thank God. Oh, Leus...”

“Sis, I’m sorry... I’m sorry!”

After they had calmed down, I called out to Leus. We had made a promise, after all.

“Leus, you lost. Now you have to do what I tell you.”

“Sirius, please let me do that instead. I don’t want him to suffer any more...”

“No. This was our fight, and our promise. You can’t step in for him this time.”

I looked over at Leus and smiled.

“Leus, come home.”

“Okay.”

Leus smiled back, just like a kid his age should have. Then, he passed out.

I had Emilia climb on my back, while I carried Leus in my arms, and headed back to the house.

As we walked inside, my servants were all there to greet us.

“Welcome back, Sirius, Emilia. And you too, Leus.”

“We’re back. Please take care of him right away.”

“I will.”

“Phew, his cute little face is all beat up! Do we have enough bandages for this?”

I handed Leus over to Dii and Noel, then helped Emilia down.

Erina came over with a towel and some water and handed them to us.

“Good work. I’m certain Leus will refrain from any further recklessness from now on.”

“I might have gone a little too far, but I’m glad I got him to come back home.”

“On the contrary—you did well, Sirius. If anything, you might have gone too easy on him. A servant cannot just leave their master without permission. Depending on the master, they may even be killed for it!”

It’s not like Leus was my servant, but Erina seemed genuinely mad for once. I didn’t dare speak up against her.

“He seems to have learned from this, though. I can tell by his cute sleeping face.”

“I did smack him around a fair bit, after all. Hopefully he’s not scared of me now.”

“Don’t worry about that. You did it out of love and concern. I’m sure he knows that.”

As Erina and I finished talking, it occured to me that Emilia hadn’t said anything yet. Maybe she was mad about what I did to Leus?

“Want to go see Leus?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, right.”

She started to run off, but stopped on the way and turned to me. She bowed deeply.

“Um... thank you so much. Because of you, the two of us can still be together.”

“Well, I did hit him a lot. Sorry for that. Anyways, if he actually had a good reason to leave, I would have let him. If he finds his purpose, he should follow it. That goes for you too, Emilia.”

“Sirius, I’ve already found my new purpose in life. Uh... sorry!”

Emilia gazed at me for a second, then wrapped her arms around me. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of pain in my shoulder. She had bitten me. It didn’t hurt much, but it did take me by surprise. She whispered something in my ear, looked up at me with flushed cheeks, and ran off.

Erina stared at me in shock and confusion.

“I can’t believe she bit her master. Should I punish her for you?”

“No, no, wait! That’s a sign of affection for their kind! She wasn’t attacking me or anything!”

I explained what Emilia had told me about silver wolves biting each other. I thought about what she had whispered.

“I love you. I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

Her admiration had turned into love. That had also probably meant that she wanted to be my servant.

“I see. If Noel were here, I’m sure she’d say 'told you so.’”

“You sure look happy.”

“I’m just glad you’ve found another loyal servant.”

The anger was drained from Erina’s face in an instant and replaced by a gentle smile.

“Leave her training to me. I’ll teach her how to be the perfect servant.”

“She’s my student too, so you don’t have to go that far.”

“I do. I’ll teach her everything I know. Knowing her, she’ll be keen on learning.”

“Well, that’s true, but... just don’t push yourselves.”

“Of course. Well then, leave the rest to me.”

Erina had done a great job teaching Noel, and she had been the person closest to me my whole life, so I felt safe trusting Emilia with her.

“Now there’s finally someone to take my place...”

I pretended not to hear Erina’s whisper as I headed toward my room.

The next day, I was running in the backyard again, like usual. Normally, I’d have the siblings run with me, but Leus was still sleeping. I wanted to let him rest. I didn’t have to match their pace, which meant I was able to run as fast as I could while still keeping my footsteps silent.

I had lost count of how many laps I’d done, though I had worked up quite a sweat. Erina showed up with a drink and a towel like usual, which I happily accepted.

“How are the kids doing? Are they up yet?”

“They’re still resting. It seems like they’ve woken up, but they asked me to give them some time to themselves through the door.”

That was fine, though I didn’t want them staying locked up there alone for too long. It might have an undesired effect if they were to just hide.

“Should I try leaving food outside their door to lure them out?”

“Let’s leave that as a last resort.”

I’d feel bad if I were to treat them like animals by luring them out with food. Then again, wolves were a part of the canid family—in Leus’s case, it might not have been a bad idea.

“Good morning, Sirius!”

Only Dii and Noel were seated at the table for breakfast. Noel went to go ask them one more time if they wanted to join us, but she stopped in her tracks as she was about to leave the living room.

“Oh my. Hi there.”

“Ah?!”

The door was opened ever so slightly, and two pairs of wolf ears were barely visible through the crack where the two of them were peeking in. They jumped in surprise when they were discovered, but Noel casually opened the door and let them in.

“Good... morning...”

Emilia greeted us, but the fairly bruised Leus stayed silent and looked at the ground. His eyes were red, so he had probably been crying quite a lot since he’d woken up.

Erina looked over at him, and called out in a calm voice.

“Good morning. Leus, aren’t you going to greet everyone?”

“Ugh... Good... m-morning.”

“Good boy. Now sit down and eat before the food gets cold.”

“Come on guys! Sit, sit!”

Noel pushed the two of them over to the table.

There was a serving of bread and bacon in front of each seat except for Leus’s.

“Here you go.”

Dii handed Leus a bowl of warm soup. It was rare for Dii to show any emotion, but whenever he talked to Leus, he seemed more gentle than usual.

“You've got some cuts in your mouth, right? If you can eat this, I’ll make the same thing everyone has for you too.”

The siblings didn’t say anything; so, to keep things from getting awkward, I had everyone hold hands.

“Well, then, everyone—let’s thank God for the food and dig in!”

“Thanks for the food!”

“Th-Thanks for the food.”

After that, everyone started to eat.

Thanking God before eating was a normal custom in this world, though holding hands was something I had taught everyone.

The siblings hesitated for a second, then started to eat too. Leus brought the spoon to his mouth, but he winced as the hot soup probably hit one of his cuts.

“Hmm, maybe hot soup was a mistake. Should I get you something cool?”

“It tastes better hot, though, right?”

“That is true. Hey, hey, Leus! That’s the soup you guys ate the first day you came here, you know? Can you tell?”

“If you can still taste it, I’d like your opinion on it.”

Dii looked over at Leus and waited for his reply. Leus’s eyes grew a little watery as everyone looked at him, but he took another spoonful and nodded.

“I-It’s... delicious.”

He was on the verge of crying, but didn’t stop eating. Leus quickly finished his soup, placed his hands on the table, and bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry for running away without telling anyone! I won’t do anything like that again! Please... let me stay here with my sister!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look over at him. Erina just softly replied.

“Leus. Do you remember the last thing Sirius said to you last night?”

“Come home.”

“Well, there you go. You’re home now, Leus.”

“Welcome home!”

“Ugh... sob, sob.”

Realizing he had been forgiven, Leus started to weep.

Emilia gently stroked his back, while Noel wiped his tears away with a handkerchief.

“It’s okay to cry, but you’re still hungry, right? Think you can eat some bread?”

“Eat some meat, too. You need the energy.”

“Leus, you can have some of my egg, too.”

“Thank you...”

Our breakfast continued with the two of them doting on Leus the whole time. Leus came over to me as we were having some tea after our meal. His visible annoyance toward me was completely gone, and now he just looked like a troubled child. He hesitated for a bit before he finally bowed and spoke up.

“Sirius, I’m sorry. And... thank you very much.”

“It’s okay. How are your wounds? Does it hurt?”

“It hurts a little, but I’m fine.”

“Good. But, just so you know, I won’t heal those wounds. You need to feel the consequences of your actions.”

“Okay!”

He finally smiled like a kid his age should for the first time. I tried to pat his head. Not only did he not look annoyed, but he actually blushed and started to wag his tail. This marked the moment I had finally gained his trust.

“So how does the cursed child thing work? Do you turn at night without your control?”

“That’s what happened at first, but now I can control it.”

It was good to know that he could control it. Apparently, when he looked at the moon, his body would grow hot and he’d feel like transforming. At the end of the day, though, he’d be able to choose to do it or not himself.

It could still spell trouble for him later in life, so I told him to never transform without a good reason, and to come to me for help if something happened.

Leus was a good kid. Now that I had his trust, it was clear he’d do what I told him.

“Sirius, I want to be stronger! I want to be able to protect Sis no matter what! Please take me in as your student!”

“I already consider you my student, don’t worry. But I’ll work you hard, so be ready for that.”

“I will! I want to be as strong as you!”

I had finally gained their trust, and we could start again from there. It was then an issue of training the two of them well, while also not neglecting my own. I smiled to myself as I thought of the tough—but rewarding—road ahead.

Even though I was fired up, I decided not to do any training with them today. Leus was still hurt, and Erina was talking about how she wanted to teach Emilia more about being a servant; so I left Emilia to her.

I decided to head over to the old man for some practice instead. While I waited for Dii to make me a packed lunch, I did some practice swings in the garden. I was trying to imitate Liole’s “Single Strike” style. It was built around ending everything in a single attack. That meant it took an incredible amount of skill to master. His crazy flurry of eight attacks at once was impossible for me to replicate, even with “Boost”—so far, I’d only been able to do six. Not only was he able to do it, but he did it with his massive greatsword. He truly was a monster among men.

As I was practicing, I spotted Leus watching me from the hallway. I’d told him to go rest, but I smiled and waved him over. He smiled back, and came running toward me with his tail wagging.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go rest a bit longer?”

“I’m fine. My body doesn’t hurt that much anymore. I wanted to come watch you instead!”

Well, it was good to hear he was healing fast. Maybe that was because he was a cursed child too?

Leus looked over at my training sword curiously, which reminded me that I’d never actually practiced with a sword in front of him. Maybe I should let him try?

“Are you interested in swords?”

“Yes! You were super cool when you swung it around earlier!”

“I see. Want to try?”

I handed him the sword, and he stared at it in excitement.

“Are you sure?”

“Try it. If it hurts swinging it around now, let’s wait until you’ve healed a bit more.”

I wasn’t sure what kind of style Leus would want to fight with later on, but there was no drawback to learning the basics of sword combat.

He smiled and tried to swing the sword around. Unfortunately, because of his poor technique, the blade barely made a sound as it cut through the air. He tilted his head in confusion.

“It doesn’t sound the same...”

“It’s because you’re just swinging it aimlessly. Here, let me show you.”

I took the sword back and demonstrated. I wasn’t very skilled with swords, but I knew a thing or two. After some explanation, I handed the sword back. This time, the sound was a bit louder.

“Here’s your lunch, Sirius. Oh? Are you teaching Leus how to use a sword?”

“I just had him try it out. He did pretty well for his first time.”

Dii came out to hand me my lunch and spotted us training. He seemed excited about it, so I let him take over from there and headed out to meet the old man instead.

“If you’re not busy, why don’t you help him with his training for a bit? I’m heading out now anyway.”

“Be safe.”

I nodded back, then jumped into the air. As I flew away, I could see Dii giving Leus some pointers and smiled to myself.

I arrived at the old man’s place. We did our usual mock battle, but I was unable to dodge one of his attacks, and went flying by it.

“Argh?!”

The impact had really knocked the air out of me, though I was somehow able to secure a safe landing. Still, I felt a bone break in my left arm. Had we been fighting with real swords, I’d have been dead.

“Phew. How about it? Round two?”

“Heh... I’m done for now, I think.”

He smiled in satisfaction and sat down too. I guess he was at his limit, as well.

That last attack had really caught me by surprise. His style was focused on singular, powerful strikes. Some of his techniques were several swift strikes delivered at once, but the sudden strike he’d just hit me with was very different from his usual style. I had gotten too used to his fighting style and had let my guard down.

“I wasn’t expecting that technique at all. Your style really is impressive.”

“Thank you. I haven’t named it yet, but I’m glad it worked.”

“You haven’t named it yet?”

“I made that one specifically for you. It’s meant to deal with fast opponents using a feint. It’s totally different from most of my other techniques, so perfecting it was pretty tough.”

I did not expect him to create a whole new technique to defeat me. He really was dedicated.

”Though, now that I’ve used it once, I don’t know if it will work on you again. I’ll have to think about whether I’ll use it more or not later.”

He was right—I was confident I’d be able to dodge it next time, so it was possible he’d just not use it again. We’d probably continue to fight like this until one of us was unable to continue. Since we both enjoyed the fighting and training, that was fine.

“You did manage to block it somehow, it seems. How’s your arm?”

“I’ll be able to heal it just fine, but I think I’m done for today.”

The bone had cracked for sure. Thankfully, with my healing ability, I’d have it back to normal within a couple of hours.

“All right. Well then, let’s have lunch.”

“Speaking of—Dii made us lunches. Here’s yours.”

“Haha! Now we’re talking!”

He would always take food from my lunches when I came to see him, so I had Dii make extra. The old man sure loved my servants’ cooking. He walked into the house with a big smile on his face, and I followed after him. That day, Dii had prepared cutlet sandwiches and a variety of sides. His cooking always looked a little fancier than mine, and it tasted great. I explained what had happened with Leus while we ate.

“Oh yeah, Leus seems interested in learning to use a sword.”

“I see. Well, it’s good that he’s interested in learning. I started about that age myself.”

“So you’ve been training for about 50 years, then? I’m amazed you’ve gotten this good in that time.”

“Hmph. You can flatter me all you want, but I still lost to you. Hey, what do you think about taking on my style?”

We’d sparred countless times by now, but this was the first time he’d brought up passing on his style to me.

“I’m very flattered, but our fighting styles are too different. I don’t feel like I would be able to do your techniques justice.”

“I see. It’s not like I must have a successor to this style, or anything, but it feels like a waste to just let it die.”

The single strike style wasn’t something he’d learned from anyone, but a set of techniques he created himself. The reason he’d even made it in the first place was because if he had a style, strong opponents would show up to learn from it. That was all.

“Why don’t you teach it to Leus, then?”

“Oh? You sure about that?”

“I don’t mind. That’s as long as he wants to, of course.”

My techniques were all based on my knowledge from my previous life, so passing it on would be all but impossible. That’s why my current teaching regiment consisted of basic stamina and strength training. I actually didn’t know what kind of weapon or fighting style to teach them later, so Liole’s willingness to teach Leus the single strike style would be incredibly helpful to me.

“I plan on doing some basic training and studying with him for about half a year to build a foundation. Then, if he’s okay with it, I’d like to bring him here.”

“That sounds good. I look forward to it.”

“Please do. Do you mind if I try teaching him some of the basics of your techniques in the meantime?”

“Go ahead. But the kid better have potential! I expect someone who can cut stone with his sword, or at least do four swings at once!”

“Don’t be too harsh on him. Even I can’t do more than six at once.”

“I haven’t even taught you how, and you’re already doing six? You’re the crazy one!”

“I just tried it and I could do six. I don’t know what to tell you.”

The old man and I talked until my arm had fully healed.

When I returned home, I was met by a surprising sight.

“Oh, Sirius! Welcome home!”

Leus was still in the garden swinging the sword. He had taken breaks throughout the day, but seeing him practice so zealously despite his injuries made me smile. Dii was standing next to him and nodding in satisfaction.

“Sirius—you’re incredibly talented, but I think you’ve found someone who can give you a run for your money.”

I looked over at Leus again. He has definitely improved already. He was imitating Liole’s strikes that I’d shown him before. The sound of his swings had gotten a lot better.

“Hmm... I don’t get it. Sirius, how did you do the six strike thing? I can’t do more than three no matter how hard I try...”

“Whoa. That’s amazing.”

“Right?”

He was able to imitate a technique he’d only seen once with such ease. Not only that, but each strike seemed to be well executed. It appeared as though he was very gifted. I gave him a couple of pointers, then left him with Dii and headed into the house. As I entered, a blushing Emilia greeted me.

“Umm, w-welcome home!”

“I’m back.”

She had been acting a little embarrassed around me since she’d confessed the day before, but she seemed extra tense now. What had Erina taught her?

“Are you okay, Emilia? Let me know if there’s anything bothering you.”

“W-Well, I have a question—do you prefer my hair long or short?”

“Your hair?”

Her hair was about shoulder length. I thought it looked good on her, but it would look even better a bit longer. I told her that, she nodded in excitement with sparkling eyes.

“Got it! I’ll work hard for you, Sirius! Once I’m an adult, I’ll be a good girlfriend too! P-Please wait for me!”

It felt like she just said something outrageous... had I just imagined things? She ran off like a scared puppy the moment she said it, so I didn’t get to ask her either.

I felt hungry, so I headed to the kitchen. There, I was greeted by yet another strange sight—Emilia and Noel were holding bottles of milk and chugging them together.

“I’ll work hard and make sure I grow up nice and big for Sirius!”

“I won’t lose! I’ll grow up and turn into a real hottie!”

I felt like I had witnessed something I shouldn’t have, so I pretended that I hadn’t seen anything and left quietly.

That night we all gathered in the garden, which was lit up by the moonlight. The moon here wasn’t like in my old world, where it would wax and wane. Instead, it was always a full moon; but clouds would sometimes get in the way. On this particular night, it was really bright and fully exposed. Well, it wasn’t like we had gathered there just to look at the moon—the siblings had asked us to meet them there.

“Please come meet us in the garden tonight when the moon is at its brightest.”

The two of them had holed up in the house all evening as they prepared something.

“What a beautiful moon. I wonder what those two are up to.”

“They asked me for wine earlier.”

“Wine? They want us to drink together out here? That doesn’t sound too bad. The moon is so beautiful.”

“Sirius and those two can’t drink, though; they’re too young. I don’t know why they asked for it, but they seemed serious.”

“Speak of the devil.”

Just then, the two of them walked out of the house carrying a small desk.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s fine. So, why did you gather us all out here?”

“We want to show you a ritual. Leus.”

“Right. Is it fine here?”

Leus placed the desk down. Emilia took out bottles of wine and juice and placed them on the table. It looked like they were making an offering to the moon.

“First, thank you all for coming.”

“Thank you!”

They both bowed and thanked us. It looked like a pair of kids doing their first presentation ever, which made me smile.

“You see, there’s a certain ritual in our clan that is done during festivals or marriage ceremonies. It’s called the ‘silver moon ritual.’ It’s a special ritual where someone swears their eternal allegiance to someone else. Once done, it can never be taken back.”

Leus started to pour some juice into a cup on the desk.

“Really? Never ever? Silver wolves are so cool!”

“Our dad said it’s an old custom. I’ve never seen anyone break a silver moon ritual, ever.”

“You said it’s used for marriage too, right? Makes sense, then. They say silver wolves have incredibly strong bonds with family.

“I see! You sure know a lot, Sirius!”

“I just read about it in a book. I never thought I’d actually get to see it first hand.”

“We had you all gather here to witness our oath. Sirius, please stand here.” Emilia waved me over, and I walked up in front of the desk. What, am I not supposed to watch?

“Are you ready, Leus?”

“I’m ready!”

The two of them got on one knee in front of me, holding their hands up in front of their chests like they were praying to God.

“Oh, great silver moon, mother of all, please watch over us as we swear our oath.”

The two of them turned to the moon, speaking in solemn voices.

“I, Emilia Silverion...”

“I, Leus Silverion...”

“Swear that we will follow our master, Sirius, until the end of time.”

As they finished, silence filled the garden. You would have been able to hear a pin drop.

I was more than happy enough just knowing they trusted me.

They were still kids, so I had figured that one day, they’d go their own ways. Maybe they would settle down and start families of their own. Their oath might become an issue then. I was so stunned, though, that I didn’t say anything.

They both looked so serious as they stared straight at me.

“We talked about it all day and decided together. We want to stay by your side!”

“I’m just a kid, so I can’t do much now, but one day I want to grow strong enough to be the one saving you, Sirius!”

“We’ll make sure you won’t regret it, so... will you please accept our oath?”

They were kids, but it was still admirable to have someone go to such lengths to follow me. I knew the resolve it had taken for them to put themselves out there like that, so I wouldn’t let that gesture be in vain. I couldn’t turn them down.

“Of course. I accept.”

They smiled and hugged each other in excitement as the servants applauded. I wasn’t sure how to react, so I just scratched my head awkwardly. Emilia soon handed one of the cups to me.

“We’ll continue with the ritual, so please hold this.”

She mumbled something about it usually requiring alcohol, then bit her finger and dripped some of her blood into the cup. Leus then stepped forward and did the same.

---

---

“This is a gesture showing that we offer our very blood to you. Normally, during wedding ceremonies, the partner will drink the blood, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Of course I will. And I promise, I’ll make sure I train you well. I’ll make sure you don’t regret following me.”

I raised my cup to the moon as if it was watching. I felt like I should say something in return to make sure they trusted me.

“This is just something we did without even telling you. You don’t have to swear anything back.”

“That’s right, we just chose to do it without asking.”

I just smiled at them, then drank the contents of the cup in one go. I didn’t care if there was blood in it or not—it would feel rude not to drink it. I wanted to show them I cared.

“Thanks for the drink. All right, was that the last step?”

They both stared at me in surprise for a second, then smiled and hugged once again.

“Yes! Please take care of us from now on!”

“We’ll work hard for you too, Sirius!”

“Good. I’ll do my best to train you two.”

The servants came up to congratulate us as the ritual finished.

“Congratulations. It was an honor to be able to watch such a special ceremony.”

“So now you guys are full-fledged servants too, right? Let’s work hard together!”

“Come ask me any time if you need help with something.”

“Thank you!”

The servants all seemed really excited to officially have the siblings join their ranks.

“Hey, Emilia. Can everyone have some of this wine?”

“Yes. Normally, a ceremony like this would have a big feast with lots of food and stuff, but we couldn’t prepare any of that. We figured we should at least have some wine.”

“We made it ourselves, though, so it might not taste good.”

“I’ll cook for you whenever you want.”

“I’m sorry. This is our ceremony, so we wanted to prepare everything ourselves.”

“Hmm, I see. That makes sense.”

“Come on, don’t just stand there! Have some.”

Erina started to hand out glasses of wine to the others, while the siblings and I just had juice.

“Well, then, let’s celebrate. Let’s see... Noel, you do the toast.”

“And don’t go on too many tangents, please. Just keep it short.”

“Huuuh?! Well, all right. I’ll just do a normal one. Umm...”

We all gathered around the table and raised our glasses.

“We’ve got two new servants in the house! Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

The sound of laughter and glasses clinking together filled the garden as we enjoyed ourselves in the moonlight.

※※※

“Take that!”

Emilia dodged the goblin’s attack and slashed its throat with her dagger. Another one charged at her from behind, but she was quick to cut that one down, as well. A third one tried to attack her, too, but she retaliated.

“Air Slash!”

She fired off a wind spell, which cut the last goblin’s head clean off. After she made sure there were no more threats in sight, she sheathed her dagger.

“Haah!”

Leus swung his sword at a goblin with all his might. The blow cleaved its head in half. As it saw what had happened to its comrade, another goblin froze in fear, only to quickly face its demise by Leus’s sword. The last goblin in the group jumped toward Leus, but took a solid knee to the face and fell to the ground.

“Break!”

Another small group of goblins rushed toward him, but the five consecutive strikes he sent off in a flurry cut them all to bits. While the two of them were fighting, I was watching them from a nearby boulder. I wasn’t slacking off, or anything—this was training.

If something were to happen, I’d rush in to help; but they seemed to be handling themselves just fine.

It had been a year since the silver moon ritual. The two of them had gotten even more serious about training and had grown a lot. They’d become strong fighters. We were up in the mountains fighting a group of goblins, but they didn’t even pose a challenge for them anymore. The training of the day focused on fighting bigger groups of enemies. They had gone up against about 30 goblins, but they had killed them so easily that I almost felt bad for the monsters.

Seeing them grow so much in just a year made me feel pretty proud.

Emilia’s mana affinity was wind. She fought primarily with magic, as well as a trusty dagger. I had taught her how to focus and imagine the spells clearly, so she was able to cast them without the need for chanting.

More goblins rushed to her than Leus; probably since she was a girl. She made sure to move in a way where they couldn’t sneak up behind her, and hacked them down with her dagger. The moment a goblin would try to approach her, it would be sent flying by wind magic, then cut to bits. She was truly skilled at dealing with the monsters.

Leus’s affinity was fire. I had taught him how to cast spells without chants, too, but he prefered to fight with his sword over using magic. His style was the old man’s single strike style.

I had brought Leus to the old man six months earlier, and Liole took a real liking to him. After that, Leus would come train with me and the old man. He was already strong enough to cleave a goblin in half with a single strike. Although, according to the old man, that was still just beginner level.

As I was lost in thought, Leus finished off the final goblin. They were both covered considerably in goblin goo, but neither were hurt at all.

While they looked like two fierce warriors in battle...

“Sirius!”

“Big bro!”

Once they’d finished fighting, they came running over to me with big smiles on their faces and their tails wagging. They quickly turned from skilled fighters to adorable dogs.

“We dealt with all of them without getting hurt! Leus is covered in a lot of goblin blood, but—”

“That’s because you use too much magic! Big bro keeps saying you shouldn’t rely too heavily on just magic. I took them all down without any magic at all! Am I amazing, or what?!”

They started to shout at each other. A few head pats shut them up, and they started to wag their tails again.

“Ehehe.”

“Hehe.”

Although the two of them had started to change considerably since I had first picked them up, their smiles were the same as always.

Emilia’s hair had grown longer and now reached all the way to her lower back. Her body was more defined, too—seemed like all that milk drinking had worked, after all. I had kept the fact that I had seen that a secret the whole time, of course. Anyway, she had grown even cuter over the past year. She’d surely be an incredibly beautiful woman when she grew up.

Leus had also grown a lot, both physically and mentally. His speech pattern had become more manly and confident, and he no longer acted based solely on his emotions.

Ever since he had sworn his oath, he had started calling me “big bro.” It wasn’t a very fitting title for a master. I had warned him many times to call me something else, but it never worked. It clearly meant a lot to him, so I told him he could keep doing it as long as he used a more proper title in public settings. He wasn’t very used to speaking politely, which was something Erina got especially worked up over.

As for me, I... had grown a little taller. Leus had grown so much that he was almost taller than me already. Other than that, I had developed several new spells. I was well on my way to mastering spells from other affinities, as well.

Only one year remained before we had to leave the house. I would continue to train—both the siblings and myself—until the very last day. That way, we could keep our pace up, even when we left for good.

“Are we done for today?”

“Yeah, I think we can call it a day. Let’s head home and eat.”

“I wonder what big bro Dii is going to make today.”

Had we brought the goblin parts to an adventurer’s guild, we’d get some decent cash from it. It was a bit of a pain to do, though, as we were still too young to register at the guild. In the end, we just left the goblins for other monsters to deal with.

I reviewed the fight with the two of them as we headed home.

Once we had returned, Leus went off to get bathed and changed, while Emilia and I headed for the living room. Erina was resting on the couch. She instantly tried to get up to greet us, but I held my hand out to stop her.

“We’re back, Erina. Please, rest.”

“I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re back safe.”

“These two are naturals, so it went fine. How are you feeling today?”

“My body feels a little heavy, but it’s not a problem.”

Erina’s condition had worsened quite a lot over the past six months. She used to wait for us in the hallway, but now she seemed to get tired simply from the walk to the entrance hall from the living room. She spent most of her time sitting or laying down. I had told her not to come greet us anymore, and to leave the chores to the other servants.

“What are you going to do after lunch, Sirius?”

“I was planning on bringing Leus over to Liole’s again. Will you be teaching today too, Erina?”

“Yes. I’d like to borrow Emilia for a while after lunch.”

“Got it. I’ll go change, then. Be right back, Sirius.”

Emilia headed over to her room to change, and Erina looked over at me with a smile.

“She sure has grown fast. I feel like I just made her new clothes, and they already look small on her.”

“Yeah. She’s turning into a woman real fast. I’m sorry you have to keep sewing. I’m sure it must be tiring.”

“Not at all. It reminds me how fast they’re growing, after all. I’m just sitting when I sew, so it’s no problem. It’s one of my favorite things to do.”

She glanced up at me with a smile, as if to say “that includes your clothes, too.” I smiled back.

After she had changed into her maid outfit, Emilia came running back into the living room and bowed politely.

“Welcome home, Sirius. Let me take your luggage.”

She removed my weapon belt for me. I didn’t really need help for that, but she was practicing her servant duties, so I didn’t want to say anything.

She wanted to be a servant like Erina and Noel, so whenever she wasn’t out training with me, she was at home learning from Erina. Doing both types of harsh training had to be tiring, but I had never heard her complain once.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking about how much you’ve grown.”

“Indeed. You undid the belt perfectly, and your bow was flawless.”

“Oh my! Thank you very much!”

She instantly blushed at the compliments. That was more like her. I patted her head and nodded in satisfaction.

“You’ll be better than Noel in no time. Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have said that out loud.”

There was a sudden crash behind us. Noel, who had been preparing lunch, had dropped what she was holding. She stared at us in shock as silence filled the room.

“I-It’s okay Big sis! I’m no good unless I’m with Sirius, so I can’t be a good servant around anyone else like you can!”

“H-Haha... right... You still can’t beat big sis... right?”

It was a sad sight—a woman in her 30s needed a child to console her. Classic Noelism.

“If only you weren’t such an airhead, you’d be perfect too.”

I heard Erina whisper quietly to herself.

After lunch, Leus and I headed over to the old man’s. I left Leus with him and headed over to a nearby hill to practice my magic.

“Hahaha!”

“Ahh, damnit!”

With the sound of them training in the background, I started to use one of my new spells for long-range shooting.

I had fired my fair share of long-range rifles for assassinations in my day. The longest distance one of those could shoot had been about two thousand meters, but I was aiming at a target that was twice as far away.

I was on one knee, imagining a sniper rifle, when I fired. It didn’t hit the bullseye, but it did hit the target.

Normally, hitting the target from that distance would have been impossible, regardless of the weapon; but this was a world of magic. The only limit was your imagination, really.

“Hahaha! What’s wrong, little one?!”

“What?! That’s cheating!”

As for the scope, I was using a specially made mana tool I’d finally been able to create about six months earlier. It was made of wood, and had a magic circle inside that used water for magnification. There were no telescopes in this world, so it was my own personal design. Apparently, mana tool creation was a specific class at school, so I was looking forward to that.

I kept firing a few powerful long-range shots. After a few minutes, I finally hit the bullseye.

“You’re still standing? How about this?!”

“B-Big bro, save me!”

A normal bullet would have to deal with wind resistance and direction, but that wasn’t a problem for magic. I had developed magic that was clearly superior to normal firearms in every way.

“Hahaha!”

“Eeek!”

It seemed like Leus had lost, so I called it a day.

“B-Big bro...”

“Oh, there you are. The little one managed to fight me at 30 percent of my strength today!”

Leus was lying on the ground, heavily beaten. The old man was laughing next to him.

I reached down and patted Leus’s head, then picked up the wooden sword he’d dropped.

“Good work, Leus. I’ll punish this crazy old man for you.”

“Hmph! How rude! I’m just helping the little scamp grow!”

“You were laughing at him after beating him!”

“Well, I had fun! I couldn’t help myself!”

“Crazy old man!”

I used “Boost” and charged at him. I used some powers I normally didn’t use against him to win. For some reason, that only made him laugh harder before he collapsed. During breakfast the next day, I suddenly had a fun idea.

“Let’s go out on a picnic.”

“Picnic? With who?”

“Everyone, of course! We’ll all bring packed lunches and have a good time!”

“Good idea!”

The kids were excited about that, of course; a certain cat also joined in their cheering, as if she was one of them. Dii quickly started talking about what food he’d cook for the lunches. Erina simply shook her head.

“I’m afraid I’ll stay here and watch the house. Everyone else should go ahead and have a grand time. I apologize.”

“What?! We can’t leave you here alone.”

“It won’t be any fun without you!”

“I’m sorry... I want to go, but I’m not really able to walk well.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got something for you.”

I revealed a wooden chair with a strap for my back. If Dii and I took turns carrying her in the chair, she wouldn’t have to walk at all.

“Oh my... well, now I can’t say no.”

“Good! Let’s all go have a fun picnic!”

“Yaay! A picnic!”

“I can’t wait!”

The kids seemed especially excited, as they rarely got breaks from their training. Seeing them act like normal kids put a big smile on my face. I made a mental note to increase the amount of time they had to play.

“Well, then, let’s get ready. Dii and Noel, you guys handle the food. Emilia and Leus, gather some carpets that we can sit on. Erina, you go ahead and rest.

“Okay, let’s go guys!”

“Let’s go!”

Everyone rushed off to handle their jobs, and Erina and I were left alone as I adjusted her chair.

“Sirius, why the sudden picnic? We only have one year left to work for your school fees.”

“That’s exactly why—we don’t have much time left, so I want everyone to enjoy themselves.”

We didn’t know what awaited us once we were kicked out. Because of that, I wanted everyone to make lots of fun memories together, like going on a nice picnic.

“And you’ve been getting worse lately, right? I want you to get some fresh air and relax, too.”

I felt like Erina had started rushing due to her poor condition lately. She especially put a lot of effort into training Emilia, so I also wanted to give her some time off.

“Let’s forget all the important stuff for today and just have a fun picnic together.”

“Very well. I’m sorry you had to make this for me.”

“Don’t mention it. It was my pleasure.”

I had Erina get on the chair so I was sure it could sustain her weight.

Our destination was about a 30 minute walk from the house; a nice clearing I’d seen while flying home one day. It didn’t have many monsters and had a beautiful view.

Leus led the group, with me and Erina in her chair behind him. Noel, Emilia, and Dii walked behind us and kept watch. The only monsters that might have shown up were the goblins from the previous day, and we had already dealt with those. We still brought our weapons, regardless, so we would be ready to fight off any stray monsters.

“Sirius, am I heavy?”

“Not at all. How do you feel, Erina?”

“I’m fine. It’s strange, though—you’re walking a lot, but I barely feel any movement.”

“Well, I’m walking carefully on purpose. I’m used to it from a lot of training.”

I had spent a lot of time hiking in the mountains with heavy backpacks back in my day.

“I want to train too!”

“You stay ahead and keep watch. The better you do, the less Erina has to worry. So run up there and swing your sword around!”

“Okay, I will! Leave it to me!”

It had occurred to me recently that Leus was kind of an airhead like Noel. I had to make sure I taught him well, so he wouldn’t get taken advantage of in the future.

“Whoa! Amazing!”

“I had no idea such a beautiful spot was so close to the house.”

The area was filled with flowers and bushes in full bloom. There were nearly no trees in sight, except for one that stood in the middle of the clearing.

I used “Search,” just to make sure, and confirmed that there were no monsters in the area.

“Why is there just one single tree here?”

“It must be the master of these parts. The roots must be very strong, so maybe you should try asking it for a wish.”

“I see! I’ll try!”

“Me too!”

Noel and Leus put their hands on the tree in excitement.

The tree must have been sucking up most of the nutrients from the ground and stealing it from the other trees. That helped the various flowers in the area to bloom.

“We’re here, but it’s a little early for lunch, right?”

“Then let’s play! I’ve brought something fun!”

“We can play?!”

The siblings’ ears and tails stood straight up, like dogs excited to go to the park.

I took out a wooden, disk-shaped toy. There wasn’t any rubber in this world, so I had to settle for sturdy wood.

“What is that? Should I hit it with my sword?”

“Or should I shoot it with my magic?”

“That would destroy it. No, this is called a frisbee. You throw it to someone, and they catch it.”

I threw it to show them. Thankfully, it worked pretty much like a normal one from my world did. There was no one on the other side to catch it, so I knew I had to retrieve it after.

“Haah!”

I had been planning to walk over and get it when it fell, but Noel rushed out of nowhere and caught it right before it hit the ground. In all honesty, she had never been good at exercising, but she had just moved really fast.

“What just happened? My body moved by itself!”

She looked at the frisbee in confusion, like a cat that had finally caught the string it had been chasing. It wasn’t just Noel, either—the siblings were both glued to the frisbee. Normally, you’d throw it to each other, but seeing them stare at it like dogs made me feel like teasing them a little. I threw it into the air.

“There! Go get it!”

“Ahh!”

Both of them rushed off after the frisbee. I hadn’t actually expected them to catch up to it, but their training really had paid off. Emilia quickly caught up to the frisbee and grabbed it mid-air.

“Wow, good job! Now throw it bac—”

“Sirius!”

Before I could finish, Emilia had rushed up to me and placed the frisbee in my hand.

“Throw it again, please!”

“Hurry up and throw it, Big bro! I’ll definitely catch it this time!”

They were clearly having fun, so I threw it even harder this time. Even a well-trained dog would have struggled to catch it at that speed, but the two of them had grown very strong. They quickly chased after the frisbee, then brought it back to me.

“More, Big bro! Do it again!”

“Let me catch it this time, please!”

Huh. Is this how people played with frisbees...?

“A-All right...”

Suddenly, Noel was next to me, glaring at me.

Each time I threw it, she chased after the frisbee like a real cat. Maybe she really had some feline instincts in her, after all.

“Sirius, what’s going on? I—ahh! There it goes again!”

“Big sis, don’t hog it all to yourself!”

“You can throw it weak for big sis Noel, but throw it harder for us please!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?! I’ll get serious now! I’ll show you how strong I am!”

And so, I repeatedly threw the frisbee while the three of them chased after it.

“I guess you don’t really need me to do this. You guys take turns throwing it to each other instead.”

“No!”

Why not? It was time to get serious. I used “Boost” and tossed the frisbee really hard.

“Guys, it’s lunch time.”

“All right!”

Erina called out to us. Two sets of wolf ears and one set of cat ears twitched in response. We all gathered up and opened the lunches Dii had prepared for us. We started to eat after a short prayer. Emilia handed me one of her sandwiches and something to drink right away.

---

---

She refused to eat anything before I did. I felt it was unnecessary, but she was adamant about it.

“It’s delicious. It could use a bit more seasoning, but it’s definitely not bad.”

“Really?!”

Emilia’s tail started to wag like crazy. It did taste a bit different from Dii’s cooking—had she made that one?

“Yeah. I like this stuff too, you know? But, come on, don’t just sit there. Eat up.”

“Okay! Phew, it went well.”

“You worked hard, huh, Emilia?”

Emilia smiled brightly as she took a bite of her own sandwich.

Except for a small incident where Leus choked on his sandwich, it was a nice and peaceful picnic.

After we ate, we spent some time admiring the beauty of nature.

The demi-humans all rushed off to take a nap near the river. They had run so much while they’d played with the frisbee, it was to be expected that they were tired. Dii sat near them with his sword to keep watch, just in case.

As for me, I rested my head on Erina’s lap.

“Hehe.”

“You seem happy.”

She was gently patting my head with a motherly smile. She had gotten a few more wrinkles over the years, but that smile was the same as always.

“I am. You’ve grown so big, and we’ve received more members in our little family. I couldn’t be happier.”

“I see. Good. I want to keep making more fun memories like this together.”

I slowly drifted off in the comfort of Erina’s warmth.

“With you around, we definitely will. For now, just relax.”

“Thank you, I will.”

As I was lulled to sleep, I could hear Erina’s familiar humming in the background. It was the same song she’d been humming since I was just a baby. The melody put me at ease, and I quickly dozed off.

We only had one year left at the house, but things were going well. We had saved up a lot of money for the school fee already, and we trained on a daily basis.

Sadly, the world wasn’t a very kind place—there would always be pitfalls in the road. And, half a year later, the time for a terrible pitfall had come.