[April Fool’s] Chapter of New Frontiers: Onwards to the Academy!

Rinne

Of course, there won't be any major changes or anything to the story like the announcement below said. All stays the same.

As for the massive chapter? The one that is like three times the length of the regular chapters? Well, this is actually a chapter I wrote back in August. In fact, this was the original ending chapter for the arc.

It was rejected for obvious reasons, I guess... The first part and the ending note are about the only things that stayed the same.

As such, this chapter is entirely non-canon. That's important to keep in mind. Since August, a lot of the settings changed and were modified.

But I didn't want to discard such a massive chapter entirely, you know. The chapter itself is nearly 13,000 words long. It'd be a shame.

I've been thinking, once I get more time on my hands, I could maybe casually write a spin-off based on this chapter. Pretty much the kind that is mentioned in the announcement below.

For now, though, it served its use as a small prank.

I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!

Rinné

P.S.: Discord Invite is here!

My dear readers! As always, thank you for reading!

It has been a long time, well over a year by now. It was a fun ride. Over time, I started to see things in a different way. My opinions changed, my thoughts on certain matters changed, my tastes changed. That's, after all, how life goes, right?

So, with that said, there's an important piece of news I have share with you all:

The direction of Taboo Journal has to change. I am tired of writing realistic (lol) middle-ages fantasy (lol) isekai (the only true part). Ah, but we keep the MC genderbender'd cause I like it that way. We also keep the yuri. But we need more yuri so I am thinking of making it a yuri harem. Sounds good to me, right? Maybe I should also just go full smut, but that's something I still have to contemplate about.

Actually, how about we just turn the entire world into cute girls... Yeah... I'll take note of that for future ideas. Maybe Yumias gets bored with the men at some point and just genderbenders everyone. Nice plot idea.

Of course, with everyone, I mean all the men. Nobody needs those guys after all.

Anyway, that idea came now too late so you will have to make do with this. We're going to completely trash the last half a year of the story, okay? Yeah, I know, it's annoying, but I know you guys can do it.

We're going to start back at the time when they just arrived at the Lafrian Capital. Speaking of which, did I ever name it? I don't remember, someone, tell me, please.

Basically, we're replacing the second arc's final chapter. Why there?

Dude (or Dudette), of course, so we can go to school! Or the academy, actually.

Now, now, so, for those who are going to dive in into this newest of chapters, you might need a refresher, yes? Been a while since you read this, probably.

Okay, so, to sum it up. Our beloved group of little girls got bullied back in the fort—featuring explosions, death and curses—and now they fled to the capital of Lafria Kingdom! On the way there, they engaged in some questionable watersports games involving a wooden mug as well as a few unimportant discussions or so. Can't remember. Then they arrived, unceremoniously, and are now entering the city. That's where we are going to pick it up!

Oh, and for those who manage to arrive at the end, there might be a little gift waiting for you all.

And no cheating, you hear! Only good boys and girls get a cookie!

On an ending note, the working title of this story for the future will be Academy Journal — Studying Sex Ed all day long in another world!

I'll get to changing it tomorrow, 'kay?

Now then, here you go!

Enjoy the chapter!

Rinné

Red.

That was my first impression. A deep red. Look to the left and you could see red. Look to the right and you would still see red. It was everywhere. Every building was built with red bricks. Even the pavement was red. And yet, despite it being everywhere, it wasn't overwhelming. If I had to describe the impression... it would be idyllic.

"That's a lot of... red," commented Karen, her gaze sweeping from left to right.

"Nn. It's red."

"It really is red."

The three of us surveyed the townscape. The door we left through led us straight onto the main street, right next to the gate. Maybe because it was morning but it wasn't really crowded. It wasn't entirely empty either, though. A good amount of people were still walking on the streets towards their respective destinations. The carriages that came through the gate disappeared somewhere in the distance.

"It's really different from Arkesta or Aldras."

"Aldras?"

"Aldreigh's capital."

"Ohh."

I wondered how that one looked like. I hadn't seen Arkesta from the inside, but the outside wasn't pretty. It was dark, if I had to describe it. On the other hand, this city was bright. Bright red...

"Let's wait for Lily and the girls. It shouldn't take long, probably," suggested Karen."

"Nn."

"Okay, Big Sis!"

We walked towards a nearby corner from where we could overlook the gate. It didn't take us long to locate Lily either. It was nearly their turn now. It was an odd sight, Lily surrounded by four girls. Like a group of young girls that were out to play and their guardian.

Nn? Four?

"Sis, is that Lefa?"

"Mh? Oh, you're right. I guess those boys behind them are the other students then?"

I unfortunately couldn't really see those. And without seeing them, I couldn't affirm it either. Although it stood to reason that it were the other two students and maybe their professor as well. Then again, maybe their professor wouldn't be able to handle this?

"Oh, it's Lily's turn now."

"Nn, seems like it."

Lily talked with the guard in charge for a minute or so and then they were left through. It really was simple. I kind of expected some sort of entrance or exit fee.

Karen waved towards Lily, calling them over.

"That went a lot smoother than I expected to be honest. I half feared that we would get held up for some reason."

Such was Lily's first comment. I could somehow relate, as I was a little surprised as well at how smooth it went as well.

"Lily, what did the guard ask you?"

"Just some standard stuff. Why are you here? Where are you from? Such things."

"Hmm. Well, as long as nothing is wrong. So, those three..."

Karen looked past Lily, at the three little ones. They were kind of engrossed in the buildings. We weren't the only ones who were in awe at the reddish scenery.

Karen and Lily both smiled wryly at their reactions.

"How about we leisurely walk towards the market? It's a little walk, so we can look at the buildings for a while."

"If you know where that market is, Lily."

"Just leave it to me! Follow me!"

With enthusiasm, Lily took the lead. It took a moment for Emily and them to register that we would move on. They hurried behind Lily and continued staring at the various buildings while walking. Hopefully they wouldn't run into other people by accident.

"Still, I expected it to be more crowded. It's a capital after all," I wondered.

There were  maybe two or three dozen people at most on the streets. It wasn't empty by any means. But... I had expected it to be incredibly crowded.

"Mh? Oh, well, today is the first day of the new season, so they are probably... Oh... Right. Yumi! Come here for a second!"

"Nn? Wah?! What are you doing, Lily?"

Lily had suddenly stopped, turned around and pulled me away to the side. Then she bowed down and whispered something in my ear. Everyone else stared at us curiously.

But I was glad Lily did this. Because what she told me was certainly important. It would've been a problem if I hadn't known this.

"Nn, thank you for telling me, Lily."

"Hehe, no problem! Now go."

"Nn."

I walked over to Karen, who was tilting her head at me, clearly not knowing what was going on. I couldn't help but smile a little, looking forward to her reaction. Then I bowed to her.

"I wish you all the best for the coming year, that we may be together for a long time to come and that the moon and the gods may bless you with happiness and good health. Congratulations!"

"Eh?"

Karen stared at me, dumbfounded. It took a moment for her to register what I had said. Then, for some odd reason, she blushed furiously and averted her gaze.

"Eh, uh, uhm... Tha-, Thank you... Yumi..."

Was she that surprised? Why was she so embarrassed? Lily said it was normal to say this on their birthmonth...

I took a quick glance to the side, looking at the others. Maya was also blushing. She was red like a tomato. Sele on the other side looked crestfallen, mouth agape and ready to burst into tears any moment. And finally, Rina and Emily were clearly excited. Like, incredibly excited.

This is odd. I only said exactly what Lily told me... Isn't this about the same thing Karen had told me before?

Still slightly confused, I turned towards Lily, who was grinning from ear to ear, looking absolutely proud of herself.

She did something.  She absolutely did something. Whatever I said, there must've been something weird about it.

"Yumi is so bold!"

"She is. Lil' Sis is really bold."

"... Wow."

On the side I could hear Emily, Rina and Maya giving their respective comments.

"Lily. I want an explanation."

"Ehh? Isn't it fine?"

"... Lily."

"Well, I could, but..."

Lily glanced towards Karen, who was now hiding her tomato-like face behind her hands.

"Karen, shouldn't you explain it?"

"Eh? But... That... Eh... Uhh..."

Karen was currently malfunctioning. Although she didn't seem to dislike whatever I had said. She was clearly trying to hide her smile.

Since I couldn't expect an explanation from Karen, I turned back to Lily.

"Guess I have to, don't I... Well, Yumi. You see, only one person gives the full congratulations for your birth month every year."

"Huh."

"And it's usually your closest relative."

"Huh."

"And the closest relatives are, well, lovers and married couples, in a way. Right?"

"..."

Ah, I had a little inkling where this was going.

"And depending on how close you are to the person in question, the sentence changes."

"Okay..."

"For example, mentioning the blessings of the sun or the moon is reserved to only two, actually rather three, occasions."

"..."

A really wide grin appeared on Lily's face. I was a little worried that she'd stretch out her mouth at this rate.

"Mentioning the sun is either what the husband says to his wife or when you propose. In the latter case it can also be mentioned by a woman, usually when they are lovers already."

"... And the moon?"

"Wife to husband."

"..."

My face was slowly heating up. Or not slowly, it was already boiling.

Lily! You tricked me! Ahhh!

I wanted to crawl into the ground. Very deep into the ground and never come out again. No wonder everyone was blushing.

Squatting down down, I held my head.

"So, what are you going to do now? Want to try again?"

"... I won't."

"Oh?"

"I won't."

What was already said, was said. I couldn't do it over. And anyway...

"It's fine."

I took a deep breath and stood up again. My face still felt incredibly hot, but... It was fine as is. It was embarrassing, sure. But...

Nn? Wait... What did Karen exactly say again back then? Did she mention anything specific? Ahh, I was so touched at that moment but I can't remember the exact words. Wasn't that right before the confession? Why can't I remember something this important!

I probably had been so focussed on the confession at the time that my useless brain didn't bother to save that part to my memory. Stupid brain.

Anyway! Anyway... Thinking about it...  Calmly... Did I... Did I just become the wife of this relationship? Shouldn't it be the other way round? It should, right? Right?

I was a former man after all. Wasn't it odd that I was the wife?

"You heard her, Karen? Aren't you glad?"

"..."

I turned around to take a look at Karen. Which I couldn't, since she had turned around, still hiding her own face. If it was possible for someone to release steam from blushing, then she was surely very close to it.

It was relatable, though. After all, Lily just managed to casually make me declare myself as Karen's wife. Well, obviously not really, but figuratively at least. Which obviously would imply that Karen was the other part of that relationship.

It was quite embarrassing. And those excited yet innocent stares from Rina and Emily sure weren't helping.

But it doesn't feel bad. It doesn't... Rather... Ahh, don't get ahead of yourself Yumi! Don't jump the gun. All in due time.

While the thought made me happy, it was still too early to think about that. Way too early.

I took a deep breath, clutching my hands close to my chest. I could feel my fast beating heart. I took another deep breath. Alas, I didn't calm down a single bit. Not a single bit. In fact, I had the feeling it only got worse.

Ahhh, if that's the case! Then... Then!

If I couldn't calm down, then I it didn't matter anyway whatever I did now, right? My heart would surely jump out of my chest anyway, so who cared. Flawless logic!

With newfound determination, ignoring how questionable it was, I walked around Karen so that I stood in front of her. Then I pulled one of her hands down, so she couldn't hide her face anymore.

Holding my newly acquired trophy, namely Karen's hand, I turned towards the front.

"O-, O-... Off! We go!" I shouted.

Then I simply walked forward, pulling the frozen Karen along. I didn't try to look back to check for the others' reactions. I would probably die in an instant if I did.

At least I can do what I want now! It's okay! Totally! I won't hold back anymore!

Around fifteen minutes later the situation had turned completely around. Maybe Karen stopped caring about the stares as well. At least we were happily and giddily walking along the streets, hand in hand, smiles on our faces.

It was still embarrassing, though. Well, most people around us probably thought we were sisters, so it was fine. Although the warm gazes from some housewives gave me a slightly complicated feeling.

Nevertheless, we still had a proper destination, and obviously it wouldn't take forever to reach it either.

"This is the market? It's... huge."

There was a large plaza spreading out in front of us. And there were dozens over dozens of stalls, each one having their own products on display. Included came burly men shouting loudly to attract customers.

But it was truly a bustling place, not even remotely comparable to the streets we had been walking along.

"As expected of the first day of the new season. It's really crowded."

"Nn, first day of the new season? Is that a special day?"

"It is. With the first day of the month the summer season starts now. Many places celebrate at this time to welcome the summer and the second half of the year."

"Huh..."

"Well, regardless of that, let's look for some food stalls or similar. I want something other than jerky in my stomach."

Yes, that was a good idea. I full-heartedly agreed. Jerky wasn't a sufficient breakfast.

"A food stall. What kind of food stall should we look for, then?" asked Karen.

"Mh, anything that has something we can eat right now."

"That... might be hard."

Most stalls seemed to sell only a few products related to their trade. A butcher would mostly sell meat while a baker would of course sell bread. Much to my surprise I even saw a stall selling fish. And even a stall with honey products. So bees existed here.

Still, how did the fish and meat stalls cool their food? Wouldn't they go bad?

"Oh, I think I found something."

Lily pointed at a stall a little away. I couldn't see anything through the crowd, though.

Once more, Lily took the lead and led us to a peculiar stall.

"Excuse me, are those Larfas Rolls?"

"Oh? Yes, they are," answered the man from the stall.

Lily had pointed at some kind of pastry in a basket. Apparently she knew what it was.

"Lily, what are those?"

"Mh? It's a puff pastry with minced meat inside. It's delicious and you can eat it on the spot."

"Ohh."

That certainly sounded good.

"Are we fine with this then?" asked Karen.

The others quickly agreed and a few minutes later we stood a little away from the market, each of us with the peculiar pastry in hand.

"This is... quite delicious."

"Nn, it is."

I had been looking forward to it but much to my surprise it was even better than I had expected. Still a little warm, you could really feel how the baker put all their heart into it. Or maybe the butcher? I didn't really take a look at the other things the stall had to offer...

"Still, was that fine, Lily? Three silver coins was quite a lot."

"We got one for free, so I don't think it's too bad of a deal, Karen. And you won't get these that often anyway. Why not indulge a little today?"

"If you say so."

Despite what she said, Karen was still happily eating it. The pastry was quite popular among Emily and them as well. They had already finished theirs and now they were a little sad there wasn't anything left for them. Unfortunately we couldn't change that. Honestly, the pastry still was a little small for breakfast. Otherwise I might have given them a little bit of mine.

"Well then, since we're here... We should talk about what we're doing from now on."

I barely finished my own pastry and Lily already brought up the topic we all wanted to avoid a little. Karen looked a little reluctant to say anything, Rina seemed quite indifferent. Much to my surprise, Emily wasn't really reacting either. Mainly Maya and Sele looked down.

"We have roughly two choices. Either we stay with the mercenaries or we try to live on our own. Staying with the mercenaries comes with many risks. Such as battle, constant travelling and danger and such things. The pay is quite good, though."

Although I was fairly certain she had said before that the pay for the magicians was quite bad...

"On the other hand, if we don't, we have to find some other work, work that pays well enough that we can live from it. But, while Lafria isn't as bad as most countries, it might still be hard for women to find work on their own."

"Ah, but didn't Yumi get that letter from Mr Captain?" asked Karen.

"That's right but whether it would work out is a different matter, isn't it?"

"But it's an option at least."

"It is, but before we even get to that we still have to decide what we are going to do."

Even if it was an option, if it didn't work out we'd be at a loss at what to do. That was the truth.

"And so, what do you girls think?"

Lily turned towards Emily and the others. They all looked a little surprised at being suddenly addressed. Neither of them said anything for a moment, only looking around awkwardly.

But after a little pause, Sele stepped forward. And hugged my arm.

"Ehh... I guess that means you want to stay with Yumi?"

"..."

Sele nodded in response to Lily's question.

"That's fine too, I guess. So, and what about you two? Emily? Maya?"

Especially Maya, she kept staring at the ground.

"Maya, you don't want to leave?"

"..."

She slowly shook her head. Well, it wasn't all too unexpected.

"As expected, huh..."

"I... I want to stay with uncle... But... I also want to stay with you..."

Her voice was small, completely different from her usual calm and sometimes headstrong behaviour.

Emily walked up to Maya and hugged her.

"Maya, you see, the birds, when it's winter, they all leave the forest."

"Leave... the forest?"

"They leave. It's too cold for them so they go elsewhere. But, you see, when winter is over, they always come back."

Maya tilted her head in confusion. Emily looked a little troubled that her analogy didn't reach her. Whatever it was even supposed to mean anyway.

"Birds... Oh! Emily, do you mean that even if you leave we will still be able to see each other?" asked Lily.

"Yes!"

With a smile Emily affirmed it. So that's what it was about.

"That's why, Maya, even if we aren't with Uncle anymore, we can still visit him and play with him!"

"..."

Maya stared at Emily, slightly dumbounded. Then she smiled and hugged Emily back.

"You're right, Emily. That's right! We can still see him!"

Well, whether he had time to play with them was a slightly different matter, though. Also, they would probably not stay here forever. But in any case, Maya seemed to be a lot better now.

"I guess we got that cleared up then. Rina, what about you?"

"Me? I'll stay where you stay."

"..."

That was so blunt that even Lily didn't know how to react to it. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Then, Karen? Yumi? I have a suggestion."

"Suggestion?"

"Yes. The Dragon Knights will be staying for pretty long this time around I heard. If it comes to a conflict with the Akkian Empire even more so. So, it may be a little rude, but how about we set us a time limit?"

"A time limit?"

And what would we do within that time limit?

"Basically, we still need to find work. The money that Fenna gave us will probably last us a little while but not forever. So, I suggest we try to find work and live on our own. If we can't manage that until the Dragon Knights leave again or if we run out of money, then that's it. And we'll go with them."

"That's... I mean, it's a good idea, but do you think they'd accept that?"

"Korwen is soft-hearted, so I'm sure he will."

Wasn't that completely taking advantage of him now. She was right, it was a bit rude to him.

"... I am okay with that."

Karen readily agreed to it.

I thoguht about it for a little bit... It was a good suggestion, but...

"Yumi? Is something wrong?"

Lily asked me who went silent.

"Nn... Sis, Lily... Is this... fine?"

"What do you mean?"

Wasn't this exactly what Yumias had warned me about?

"Yumi?"

"... No, it's nothing. Sorry about that. I'm fine with this as well."

I discarded my doubts and shelved them. What should even be the problem? If we weren't even fighting, there'd also be no danger. Yes, surely...

"Then, I guess that decides it. Then, there's another thing I want to talk about. Since we decided to do this."

Lily pointed and Rina, Emily, Maya and Sele.

"You four. Obviously we can't let you go work somewhere on your own. So I have another suggestion."

A warm smile adorned Lily's face.

"The Academy is also taking in students, like Lefa. For Rina it's a good option to learn many things, and for you three it's also a chance to widen your horizons a little. There are many things you can do, and a little education will serve you all well in the future for that."

All four girls stared blankly at Lily, maybe not quite able to register what she was even talking about. Seeing that reaction, her smile turned a little wry.

"Well, we'll talk with the Academy about that. For now, we should focus on the more immediate problems."

"A place to sleep and food?"

"Right, Karen. We have to find a place where we can sleep. I got a few ideas but whether they'll work out is another matter."

"Nn, what kind of ideas?"

"For example, finding live-in work. That would be a little problem, though since we're seven. The next would be finding an inn and rent rooms. The last would be renting a small place. Unfortunately we don't have the money for the latter especially."

Renting a little building was surely expensive in the capital. So renting a room had a higher chance of success. Wasn't that the only real option among those anyway?

"It's still early though, so we can probably look for a place later. In the worst case, we go outside and sleep in the wagon for tonight."

"Nn, but what do you want to do instead then?"

"Simple. We'll visit the Academy."

"Eh?"

"Better strike while the iron's hot, right? For one, we already know a few people there who might be able to help us. Additionally, depending on the contents of the letter, they might be able to help us a little more."

Oh, that was right. I had my doubts but if it was possible, it was certainly worth a try.

"We all okay with that?"

We certainly didn't have any other idea. And so, it was decided that our first destination would be the Academy.

"This is a long wall."

"Only a little more, Yumi. The gate is over there."

"Oh, you're right. Still, to build a wall around the entire Academy... Are they that worried someone might break in?"

"Yes. The Academy contains many secrets, everyone knows that. And that makes it attractive, of course."

A forefront in science, huh. Technology was indeed attractive. Very, in fact.

"Yumi, take out the letter."

"Nn."

I opened the bag and brought out the letter.

We approached the gate and the guard already scrutinised us. He was clearly wary.

Collecting all my courage, I stepped forward and held up we letter.

"Uhm, we'd like to talk with the, uh... Headmaster?"

"A letter? Excuse me."

The guard took the letter and inspected it, front and back. There was a little wax seal on the front.

"From the Dragon Knights? Seems genuine. Okay, you may pass."

"Thank you. Ah, where do we have to go?"

"Follow the road and enter the main building. Third floor is the headmaster's office. You can't miss it.

"Thank you."

I thanked the guard with a smile. He blushed and looked away. Too bad for him I wasn't interested in men.

Still, it was a little relief that a smile did work at least a little. Remebering the guard in Arkesta, he wasn't reacting at all.

"Then, let's go. Main building, third floor, huh. Oh, are those students?"

Lily pointed at a small field to the side. There was a group of around ten children varying ages. They were all surrounding an older man, probably their teacher.

The students spotted us, and much to the teacher's chagrin, we drew some attention from them.

"Seems so. It's the same uniform that Lefa was wearing," answered Karen.

"Nn, speaking of which. Did Lefa get back here safely?"

"I wonder. I hope so, though."

We leisurely entered the main building and walked up the stairs on the side. The building was tall and there surely a few more floors past the third one. On the way we saw a few people, maybe researchers or teachers. They glanced at us curiously but without exception they quickly lost interest again.

We arrived on the third floor without incident. Right in the middle of the hall was a large door. Scribbled right above it in a very awkward letters were the words 'Headmas' Offise'.

"That's... Is that it? It is, isn't it? What's up with that sign?"

"No idea. Let's... Let's pretend we never saw that.

With a little of an awkward atmosphere, we approached the door and Lily knocked on it.

"Enter."

Nearly immediately we got an answer. Lily took a breath and opened the door. Bracing myself, I followed her.

"Excuse us."

"Oh? An odd group off girls came. You... aren't students, right?"

"No, we aren't. We're... Uh, travellers?"

"Travellers? And what business do you travellers have with me?"

An old man with white hair sat at a desk, quill and ink in front of him and scribbling on documents, not even stopping while he talked to us.

"Yumi, the letter."

"Nn. We have a letter for you."

"A letter?"

I walked to him and gave him the letter. The man, instead of bothering with the letter, inspected me from top to bottom instead.

"You're an odd girl. Are you alive?"

"Eh? Uhm, I am?"

"Hoo, curious. Well, let's see what this letter says."

He took a knife and swiftly opened the letter, clearly with practiced movements. Although he completely disregarded the wax seal on it. Was there even a point to it?

Unfolding the letter, he read through it. I was a little anxious, since I didn'T know the contents of the letter either.

"Hm, I see. I see. Curious, a monster, huh. That explains the odd feeling."

"Eh?"

The letter told him about me? Korwen, the heck did you do?

"Mh, I see. So, since you delivered the letter to me, I assume you girls are looking for work. Mr Korwen said you had some significant education? You are Yumi, right?"

"Ah, yes. I, I guess you could say that?"

"Hoo then, among the other girls, who else received education in mathmatics and literature?"

He directed his attention to the other ones. Lily and Karen awkwardly raised their hands.

"I see, I see. The letter also states that some of your group might want to enroll in our school department, am I right?"

"Eh? Well, yes. These girls."

Lily pointed at Rina, Emily and the girls. Apparently Korwen had the same thoughts as Lily. How amusing. They really loved those girls, didn't they.

"Hohoo. So four students. That's nice, that's nice. Way too few people appreciate a proper education. Every single child wanting to learn about our world and its wonders is welcome. You're free to enroll. In fact, I welcome you."

He smiled and spread out his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"The enrollment procedure is simple. We'll go over that within a minute. First about the others though. I assume you want to work, here, right?"

"Yes, ah, but if possible, I first wanted to ask at the military school. But that's only me," answered Lily.

"The military school? Ho, well, I guess that is suitable too. Let me pen a small letter to confirm that you worked as a mercenary. It might help you."

"Eh? Is that fine? Thank you very much."

Surprised at the friendly offer, Lily bowed in gratitude.

"Don't mind it. We are owing the Dragon Knights a lot. The Black Guards too. Speaking of which... You wouldn't be that girl the Black Guards brought around seven years ago, hoping for her to enroll here?"

"Ah... uh... Yes... That... Probably was me."

"Hohoho, never would have thought that little crybaby would now come back, all grown up. How time flies, doesn't it."

"Uhh..."

Lily blushed in embarrassment and averted her eyes. In contrast, the headmaster only smiled gently.

"Then, the other two of you want to work here, right?"

He directed his attention to me and Karen.

"If we can, it would help us a lot."

"Nn."

"Well, whether you can or not, we will see. I hope you don't mind, but I'd like you to take a little test. Our four potential students as well. Why not all of you take one?"

He finally put down his quill and stood up.

"Let's see, let's see. I remember we had a few positions we needed to fill, so if you qualify, that would in fact help us a lot. Give me a moment, who was in charge for those tests again... Who was it... Ohh, right. Right. Little Mortas was it. Speaking of which, you probably know her older sister, don't you?"

"Mortas? Can't say I heard that name before."

Karen shook her head in denial. I never heard that name either, so... Glancing at the others, nobody seemed to react to that name.

"Not? Riava Mortas, sleepy woman, always on the verge of falling over."

"... Ah. Ria. That's definitely Ria."

"Hoo, I see. She never was fond of her family name, so she kept it hidden. Well, that's not of any consequence for me."

He walked past us and opened the door.

"Follow me, I'll show you where to take the test."

We were led into a small room with various desks. It reminded me of a classroom. In side was a lone young woman, probably having just reached twenty.

"Mortas."

"Mhh? Oh? Headmaster, how can I help you?"

"I'd like you to test these girls."

"Mh? Those girls? For enrollemnt?"

"No, four for enrollment and the other three for work."

The woman's eyes widened then she looked over us.

"I see, I see. I guess the four little ones are for enrollment?"

"No, this girl is here for work."

The headmaster motioned in my direction.

"Eh? This little girl? Are you joking, headmaster?"

"Now, now. She got recognition from your very own sister, how about giving her a chance."

"From Riava? She met Riava? Seriously? And she acknowledged her?"

"Yes, that's exactly the case.

The woman stared intensely at me. It was a little unpleasant.

"I see. Then, I won't hold back. Then, the girls taking the enrollment test, please sit on this side. The other three sit here please."

She stood up and immediately split us up.

I sat down and took a look around. It was somehow nostalgic, as if I was back in school. Although the entire interior was a little old-fashioned. Also, it was still red. The walls, the ceilings. All red. The floor wasn't red here, though.

"Then, I'll leave it to you, Mortas. I wish you girls good luck."

The headmaster left the room.

Then, let's see. The tests, tests were here. Ah, no those are the regular ones. Mh... Ah, right. Excuse me for a moment, I'll be back in a moment."

The woman, Mortas, stormed out of the room as well.

"How energetic. Completely different fdrom Ria."

"Nn. I kind of expected her to be just as sleepy."

"Really, I expected that too. Oh, she's back already."

The door opened again and she returned with a number of sheets.

"Good, good. Now, these here are the enrollment tests. Don't worry too much, just fill out as much as you can, yes? Pens are here."

She handed a bundle of papter and a pen to each of the four girls.

"Then, the work qualification is here. Please do your best. And here's a pen."

Then she handed the remaining bundles, together with a pen to each of us.

"Now, let me introduce myself again. I'm Mariele Mortas and I'll watch over you for today. Please keep quiet, if you have any questions, raise your hand. Are we clear on that? You got one hour. Feel free to start now!"

With a smile she sat down.

The test had started now.

I looked over the sheet and noticed a problem.

I have trouble reading it. Uhh, I should have practised more. This'll take some time. Oh, these are math questions. That looks... easy.

There were a few papers solely with mathmatical equations and calculations. The first page was simple addition and substraction, but the later sheets became gradually harder. The last pages I had honestly no idea how to solve either. And I had a little confidence in my mathmatical abilities.

No matter, I'll try to solve as many as I can. Let's do the math ones first.

The first page was done within a minute, the second took around three and after a few more I slowly reached an impasse.

Time was limited, so I decided to just solve as much as I could, including the other topics.

All other sheets ranged from literature, something I had absolutely no clue about, over to biology and physics. The latter two were doable, albeit limited. Biology especially also concerned itself with monster and magic beast ecology in regards to magic. Obviously there was no way for me to answer such things.

The last topic concerned magic. There were quite a few things I learnt from Ria and Lily, but it only helped me with the first few questions. I took a small peek at the advanced ones and I felt like my head would burst at those. Although, amusingly there was one question I could answer. It was about a monster's ecology and the way they utilised mana. Well, or rather I tried answering it, based on my own experiences.

All in all, I spent a good amount of time, deciphering the questions and trying to write my answers. I wasn't quick about it by any means.

Now then, I answered most of the simple things. The only things I can still work on are the mathmatical questions... They might take a while, but it's better than doing nothing.

I smiled wryly. I certainly never would have expected that I would once more sit in a school taking a test.

Anyway, these questions are harder than I thoguht they would be. I'm a little worried now.

There were, of course, quite a few trick questions, but some of them are genuinely hard to solve. And unfortunately I didn't have the time to do so either.

"And, time is over, girls."

Mariele clapped her hands. I hadn't noticed at all that it already had been an entire hour. Two hours earth time.

Mariele walked to each of us and collected the tests. Then she sat down in front of us and started looking through them.

"Let's see, this is. Karen? Karewn is..."

She looked through the room and Karen raised her hand.

"I see, then let's take a look."

She feel silent again and flicked throguh the test, occasionally taking notes or writing something on the paper. Around five minutes later She closed it again.

"Mh, pretty decent, I guess. It's clear that you received some basic calculation. All topics' basics are covered and they are mostly correct too. Albeit it also means you aren't really proficient in any specific topic. Still, it's better than I expected, so I commend you for that. Now, the next one."

She took the next bundle.

"Lily. Lily is..."

"That's me."

Lily answered her.

"I see, then let me take a look."

Similarly to Karen's test, she flicked through it leisurely, ccasionally raising an eyebrow and writing notes. It took her a little longer to finish through it.

"Interesting. Magic theory, biology and physics are a mess. You are missing basics, but for some reason you know a number of pretty advanced topics. Mathmatics you covered the basics and interestingly you got the majority of literature completely right. Even I would take a while for some of those."

She nodded approvingly.

"Then, the last one from the work qulifications. Mh, Yumi? Did I read that right? Your handwriting is terrible."

"... I'm sorry."

I only learnt how to write a few days ago, please spare me.

She flciked through the test.

And started groaning. The she took notes, plenty of them.

Is it, is it that bad? Uhh...

After around ten minutes, significantly longer than the time she spent on Karen's and Lily's, she closed the bundle and stared at me.

"Please, you need to practice writing. Really. It's a headache reading through this. Your handwriting is beyond atrocious."

"... Yes. I'm sorry."

"Well, disregarding that, I'm a little astonished. Literature is basically nothing, not even surprised. Biology you covered pretty much anything that didn't involve monsters and magic beasts. Physics was pretty good too. Magic theory gets barely a pass. And mathmatics was for the most part quite good too. A few mistakes here and there but you managed to solve even some advanced questions. I just wish it was easier to read."

She leaned back and stared at the three of us.

"There's a few things you have to catch up upon, but other than that I got no complaints."

"So, we passed?"

"You did. If I wouldn't let you pass, we'd have to fire a few professors here too. Especially for literature and mathmatics. Well, then again nobody would miss those, so maybe I should recommend it to the headmaster."

I hoped she wouldn't use us as an excuse to really fire some of those.

"Anyway, you got my okay. There's a few things you'll have to catch up on if you want to work here, but it shouldn't be too much of a hurdle."

She smiled and then stood up.

"Now then, the four enrollment tests go to a colleague, he'll decide what to do with that. Ah, but don't worry, the enrollment test is only to determine what classes are appropriate," she told the younger girls.

They all looked a little anxious. Watching her commenting on our tests was probably nerve-racking.

"Let's go to the headmaster and report to him the results."

And without waiting for us, she walked through the door, so we had to hurry after her.

She really is completely different from Ria...

"I see, I see. Those results are quite all over the place."

The headmaster, sitting once more at his desk, stroke his chin while looking over the tests and listening to Mariele's report.

"Mh, mhh... It's good enough for the assistant jobs. I guesswe can hire you two. Miss Yumi, Miss Karen. Are you interested in working here?"

"Eh? ah, yes! Yes!"

"Nn. We are."

"That's good, good. Haa, that's a relief."

The headmaster looked really pleased for some reason.

"Ah, those assistant positions? The ones for astronomy?"

"Yes, those."

"Astronomy?"

I tilted my head. That wasn't a topic covered in that test at all.

"Yes, astronomy is the science that studies the celestial bodies, such as the stars, the moon and the sun. There's also an astrology branch within it, that covers the effect they have on humanoids. Specifically the magic influence. It's a very interesting department and also one of two departments that research ritual magic."

Ritual magic? I heard that before, didn't I... Didn'T those criminals in the slums in Arkesta attempt that? Or the lord of the town? At least they tried something like that.

"The assistants working there were stealing research materials, so we fired them and brought them before court. Now they sit in prison. Albeit we were unable to recover those materials. We don't know who bought them... Anyway, since then we've been looking for assistants, but most of them had questionable backgrounds."

"Questionable backgrounds? Uhh..."

We didn't even really have a proper background either, so...

"Ah, don't worry. Mr Korwen guaranteed your trustworthiness. That's enough for me."

Maybe he sensed that I was a little worried as he immediately reassured me it was fine. Really though, who was Korwen. So many people seemed to owe him favours... Ah, although he was the one who owed Wanda a favour, if I recalled right. So Wanda was the most mysterious one, after all...

"Well then, when can you start working? Immediately?"

"Ah, I think tomorrow would work best. We still need to find a place to sleep at. We only arrived today."

"Oh? If you still lack a place, the Academy owns a few dorm buildings. They are right next to the grounds too. It's a little more expensive than an inn, but it's close and a little safer. Mortas, there should still be a few free, right?"

"Ah, yes, Headmaster. There's still quite a few open."

A close-by place? That was indeed convenient. Assuming it wasn't too expensive.

"Ah, that'd depend on how expensive it would be... We don't have a lot."

"Is that so, how expensive were they again. Wait a moment. Ah, we can talk about the salary too then, right? You probably would like to know."

The headmaster opened a drawer and searched throguh a few folders, until he found what he was looking for.

"There it is, there it is. Right, the dorms. There are two options. A four person one was at twenty silver a month. The two person ones were at twelve silver a month."

"That's... really expensive."

"It is, but in my opinion it is well worth the price. You have privacy, a safe location, and you're close to your workplace. Also, just so you know, the military school isn't that far from here either. It's expensive, but a good offer."

"Still, we all have to live from the money so... I don't know if we can cover that all."

The headmaster stroked his chin and let out an understanding 'Ahh', before once more looking throguh some folders.

"Assuming you manage to find work at the military school, you would probably be paid something around thrity to forty silver a month, simply based on pure physical abilities. But you're also a magician, right? You will most likely earn at least twice that. Most likely a lot more. They are currently looking for magicians.  And for you two..."

He flicked through the pages until he stopped at one spot.

"Ah, there it was, assistant wages were at twenty silvers a month each. That covers also work-related expenditures, so you are free to bring recipes and get the money returned. Also, Yumi, if you are comfortable with it, you can get a little bonus if you can help us with some research. Someone with your... constitution, is rare after all. Let's see, how about forty silver if you agree?"

"That's..."

Assuming I accepted, Karen and I would each earn around sixty silver a month. That would indeed cover the costs for those rooms, should we take them.

On the downside, I would have to reveal to others what I am...

"I won't force you, of course. You can let me know later how you decide. But at least feel assured that those are you options and what you would earn."

"Nn, I see..."

I turned to Lily and Karen, a little unsure on what to do.

"Lily, Yumi."

"Nn?"

"Karen?"

"I think we should take those rooms. It would be safer for the others too if they don't have to walk through the entire town. And we wouldn't even know if we would even get any rooms at inns in the first place."

"Well, that's not wrong..."

Lily scratched the back of her head. She didn't seem to agree.

"Lily, Sis and I would already earn enough to cover those rooms, so whatever you would earn would go into our normal expenses. I'm not sure how much we'd need to live comfortably with, but it should be fine, right?"

"Mh... Well, I guess you're right. Haa, we'll take a look then."

"Nn."

I nodded. And just like that, our housing situationg already took a turn for the better as well.

"So these are the buildings. They look quite nice."

"They are, each of them comes installed with a kitchen and a washroom. They are even connected to the sewers, so you don't have to use the communal toilets. Ah, but no bath. There's a large bathhouse nearby though," explained Mariele.

"That really sounds good... And those are really free with those conditions?" asked Lily

"Yes. Most people using them are staff from the academy itself. A few students do too. Mainly those who come from the outside. There aren't many that can afford to live here. And among those that can, we don't accept everyone either."

They didn't? That surprised me a little.

"Since the buildings are within the walls, we don't want shady characters there. Well, we still get plenty troublemakers, but they get kicked out quickly. Thieves are incredibly rare. And usually it's at most some unimportant stuff, so nothing that really matters. The academy is swarming with magicians, so there aren't many brave enough to try their luck."

Ah. Yeah. That was understandable. If your opponent was capable of exploding an entire building, it sure made you a little more reluctant to try...

"Nn? Hey, Sis, Lily. Look, there."

"Mh? Oh. Familiar face spotted."

Once again, we met the only person we had actually known prior to coming here. She quickly spotted us as well and dashed over.

"Eh? Eh?! Why are you guys here? Ehhh? How? Why? Ouch!"

Her forehead got flicked. By Mariele.

"Manners. I was fairly certain we talked about that before."

"Oh? Miss Mariele! Ah, I'm sorry!"

Lefa hectically bowed a few times.

"Just don't forget it next time. Anyway, since you are here, could you show them around? I still have work to do."

"Ah, yes! I can do that! Leave it to me!"

"... Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Mariele rubbed her temples.

"Haa, if you do something stupid, you can look forward to another lecture."

"I... I'll try..."

"Good. Also, maybe take this opportunity. Maybe you can finally get some roommates."

"..."

And just like that Mariele turned around, and bid us farewell.

"Then, uh, why are you here? And what do you want to see?"

"Yumi and Karen will work here from today onwards. And we wanted to look at the rooms, hoping we could live here."

"Ohh! Ohhh! So you will stay here? That's great! Really!"

Lefa was clearly excited, her ears twitching,

"Then! Then, what exactly are you looking for?"

"Best we'd be looking for two fo-""Lily."-ur person... Karen?"

For some odd reason Karen interrupted Lily and pulled her to the side. She was whispering something to her with a grin. Lily looked dumbfounded and then blushed slightly. After a minute or so they returned.

"We're... looking for tw two-person rooms and one four.person room."

"Eh? Sis? Lily? Isn-, Mh?!"

Karen quickly covered my mouth before I could continue. Something was definitely up here.

"Two two-person and one four-person? Okay, follow me!"

Lefa turned aronud walked away.

"Sis? What'S going on, weren't we supposed to try and save money?"

"Yumi. Think about it. Two two-person and one four person."

"Huh?"

What was special about that? We'd pay more and had to split us up... even... more...

"I see. It's like that."

"It is."

"Nn, I see."

Yes, four silvers was a small price for this. Paying it was definitely worth. No wonder Lily did not resist.

We followed Lefa a little while until we stood in front of a small building. Well, although I called it small, it was only compared to the surrounding buildings. It was still significantly larger than a normal house.

"This is the building I stay at. Most of the rooms are free and they come in both varietes."

"Huh."

Lefa took out a small ball from a pouch and touched the door with it. A second later a click could be heard and the door opened.

"A magical lock? Thast's... surprising."

"Hehe, the Academy doesn't hold back on these things! Although they just make most of it themselves, so the locks are even better than most ones out there!"

Lefa put her hands on her hands and stood proudly in front of us, as if she herself had contributed to this. She probably didn't.

"Now then, let's take a look."

She invited us in. A small hall spread out in front of us, each side having a dozen or so doors lined up. A few ones had small plates next to the doors. They looked like nameplates.

Lefa led us to a door without one and opened it promptly.

"This is a two person room!"

It was small. That was my first impression. Still larger than Karen's hut in the slums, but... it was small probably because of the furniture inside.

"Are those proper beds? The academy really doesn't hold back."

"Hehe! It's a great place to live at! Although expensive..."

For some reason Lefa sighed.

The room was pretty empty, two beds, two drawers and a desk. Nothing else. Well, except a small door leading to a toilet. And a window above the desk. In a sense, it was cute.

"Nn, I thought Mariele said something about a kitchen?"

"Ah, she meant the one in the main hall, probably. There's a shared kitchen for the building. Barely anyone uses it though, since most of us don't know much about cooking. Ahahaaa..."

Lefa's eyes stared into the far distance.

"Anyway! The four-person room is basically the same as this one, just a little larger."

She barged out of the room and opened a door in the corner, leading us into a slightly larger room.  It really was nearly identical.

"So?"

Karen turned around to us.

"Well, I guess it's fine?"

"Nn."

At least I didn't have any complaints about it. It was more than enough.

"Then, Lefa, could you bring us to whoever is responsible for renting them out?"

"Will do!"

It was comfy. Really comfy.

"Yumi, don't be a sleazebag, you'll dirty the blankets if you don't wash up."

"Nn..."

Never did I imagine I would be so glad to lie in a proper bed. It was soft and warm. So soft I might fall asleep.

"Jeez, Yumi."

"Nn? Wah!"

A heavy weight suddenly pressed down on me.

"Sis,, you're heavy..."

"That's pretty rude, you know. Come, here. At least wash up."

"Uhh..."

Karen stood up again, pulling me up as well.

"A bucket with water?"

"I found it next to the toilet together with a water stone. There was also a small bar of soap and a towel, too."

She put me down on the ground.

"Now, let's get you all clean."

"Nn? Ah..."

Once more, I was at the mercy of Karen's incredible undressing skills. I was naked within a flash. Before I could even react.

"Uhh, at least warn me."

"No way, your embarrassed face is cute. Now, here, sit down, I'll wash you."

"Can't I do it myself?"

"No."

"Figured."

I sat down in Karen's lap. She dipped the towel in the water and then began wiping me. The water was warm and comfortable.

"Hehe, to think things would take such a turn."

"Nn. But are you sure this is fine? Aren't you worried that Lily will assault Rina in the night? They're all alone as well."

"I think Rina is more likely to assault Lily. Actually, I'm fairly certain she will. She was the one that asked me to arrange things like this."

"Eh? Really?"

That was surprising.

"Well, I knew about it for a while already, but there wasn't much I could do until now. She wanted to get closer to Lily. She also thought her surprise kiss completely failed."

"... It didn't."

"It didn't. But Rina doesn't know that. In any case, they'll be fine. I'm sure Lily will take responsibility."

"Haa..."

I could only wish her good luck. In various meanings.

"You should be more worried about yourself."

"Nn? Ah, Karen, where are you... Nn!"

"Ehehe..."

Karen's hand moved towards my front, petting my tummy and then moving up towards my chest. Without a towel, of course, so she was clearly feeling me up.

"Yumi. We're all alone right now. And the walls are pretty thick so nobody will hear anything."

"Si-, Sis? Weren't we supposed to clean up?"

"That's right."

"Nn? Ah?!"

Something wet moved along my nape.

"Tastes sweet. Do you even sweat?"

"I, I don't know? Probably?"

It certainly wasn't something I had given any thought at all.

Then, I was suddenly lifted up into the air and put onto the bed. Without delay, Karen moved herself right above me. As if she was pushing me down. No, she was pushing me down. She clearly forgot her original goal.

"Si-, Sis?"

"Don't mind me, Yumi. We have to clean up afterwards anyway, so this is fine."

Weren't you the one telling me not to dirty the bed?!

Karen leaned down, her face closing in on mine. And she kissed me. A soft, short kiss.

"Ehehe, Yumi. I, I can't hold back."

Then she closed in once more, kissing me, but this time strongly, her tongue invading my mouth.

After what felt like an eternity, she pareted once more from and lifted herself up.

With a large grin she began caressing my stomach and my chest with one hand.

"Nn! Sis, that..."

It felt pleasant. Warm and comfortable.

"Yumi, Yumi!"

Karen stood up and quickly undressed herself. With a dive she jumped onto the bed and pulled me into a hug. My face buried in her breasts.

"Ahh, why are you so cute, Yumi."

"Sis..."

It was so comfortable. A fluffy feeling spread through my body. If I could, I'd want to stay like this forever.

"Yumi, come here."

Karen pulled me a little forwards and kissed me once more, while her free hand caressed my sides, my belly, my thighs and my ass.

In the end, she even used her other hand, with which she had actually been holding me in place, to grope me chest.

"Sis... Sis!"

"Ehehe, does it feel good? It does, doesn't it?"

"Nn... It does... More..."

I was completely lost in the pleasure. But it wasn't enough. I wanted Karen to feel pleasure too.

"Mh? Yumi? Ah. Ehehe, here."

Karen presented her chest to me, which I had cautiously tried to grope. Then she led my hand, showing me how to.

"Yes, like that, that's right Yumi. Ehehe. Ahh, Yumi! Yumi!"

Completely disregarding my attempt, she strongly hugged me again, burying my face in her chest. Obviously I couldn't grope it anymore now. But I could do something else.

"Oh? Oh my, are you a baby now? So cute. You can suck more strongly, if you want. Yes, just like that."

Karen started squirming, despite my clumsy attempts. It made me feel happy, that she felt pleasure from it.

"Ahh, Yumi!"

Once more, she pushed me down, towering right above me, her face flushed. Then, much to my surprise, she moved to the side. No, not the side. She turned around, still towering above me, except upside down. Which also gave me a full view of Karen's privates.

"Ehehe! And here we go!"

"Si-, Hya?!"

A jolt ran through me. Then another, and another.

"Mh, still tastes sweet, like candy. How odd. I expected something else. Mmm."

"Wai-, Hya! Si-, Sis! Don't!"

I tried squirming free, but I couldn't. Karen helf me firmly in place, not allowing me to escape while she licked me. My face, flushed and hot, I spotted once more the slit right in front of me. Something told me, that was important. It was an important thing, that I approached.

"Mmm. Mm! Wah! Yumi?!"

"Nn..."

"Ehehe, so it's like that. I won't lose."

Karen, a little surprised that I was licking her as well, let out a little yelp. She quickly returned to licking though.

It's... delicious. Not really sweet, but... delicious.

Things were a little dizzy, not quite clear. But I wanted more of this taste. More and more.

"Mm? Yumi, what are you? Is that your tongue? Ah, stop. Mm!"

Karen squirmed around from the unexpected sensation.

"I... I see... Hehe, well, that's fine too."

I didn't know what kind of conclusion Karen reached. I was too engrossed in the scenery in front of me.

More. More. I want more.

I couldn't think of much else. Even when Karen continued down there. Everything was hazy. But it was comfortable, warm, pleasureable.

It was happiness. Pure happiness.

And I wanted more of it.

"Ouch! Ahh, Yumi, you're a little greedy. Bad girl, aren't you. Well, it makes me happy though."

Something a little irony was mixed into taste.

Nn? Iron?

"Eh?"

"Oh, you're back?"

"Sis... What?"

"You were quite engrossed."

Karen was, for some reason, sitting upright. She had moved a little forward so she could look over her shoulder at my face. She was grinning.

"Nn? What happened?"

"It felt good, Yumi."

"That wasn't the question."

Karen giggled.

"You were really focussed, weren't you. Ehehe, feel free to continue."

She wiggled her behind in front of me.

"That's..."

"Don't want to?"

"... I do."

Karen laughed heartily.

After laughing, she once more dived forwards. In the process, she pressed her behind onto my face as well, clearly expecting something from me.

A pleasant smell ran up my nose. A sweet smell.

Ah, this smell is bad. It makes me want more.

"Nn!"

Karen had started licking me already again. I couldn't dwell on this smell. Karen was waiting. I licked once over the slit right in front of me. The indescribable but delicious smell spread onto my tongue. I couldn't really say whether it was sweet, salty, bitter or anything, really. But I knew one thing for sure. It was probably the most delicious thing I've ever tasted.

"Ehehe, Yumi, you're quite into it, huh."

"Nn, Sis..."

We continued licking each other for a good while. At some point, I had run out of breath, burying my face more than actually breathing. At the point, Karen once more sat upright. Curious what she was going to do, she returned herself to her proper position, lying down next to me. Then she pulled me into her embrace.

"Sis?"

"Yes?"

"Aren't we... going to continue?"

"We are."

"Nn? Ah!"

Karen's hand caressed my breasts, then my tummy and finally my privates.

"I didn't want to end it like that, is that bad?""

... No, no, it's not."

I smiled. And kissed her.

Karen guided my own hand to her privates. I was a little hesistant to do it with my fingers, not wanting to hurt her. So, I tried to copy what I could her doing to me.

"Yumi, Yumi!"

Inbetween the kisses, she was callnig my name.

It made me happy. This girl, she was feeling good. This girl, was making me feel good.

A jolt ran through me. I would probably hit my limit soon.

"Sis, Sis... Soon... It's... Nn?!"

Before I could tell her, she strongly kissed me, not letting go. I could barely breath. The lack of oxygen made me feel hazy.

"Yumi! Yumi, I love you!"

"Sis... Nn! Ahh!"

And like that, we drowned in pleasure.

A dream?

A field was in front of me. Filled with pink and silver-grey flowers.

A dream, definitely.

Somehow, I clearly knew this was a dream. And unlike the last time, it was a calming dream. I didn't mind this place. It was cozy, pleasant.

Nn? Sis?

After taking a quick look around to look at the scenery, I found Karen lying behind me. Naked. And so, I also realised that I was naked as well.

I'm not an exhibitionist, you know. I don't really want to be on a field all naked.

I heard people claiming that dreams were visions of your own desires. While I certainly agreed that Karen would likely appear in my dreams, I was a little troubled that we were on a flowerfield. Naked.

Huh? What's this? My hair?

Part of my hair was extending towards Karen. And for some reason it merged with Karen's hair.

Weird. What is the meaning of this?

I tried tugging at my hair, but it only caused Karen to get tugged as well. Since I knew how unpleasant it was when someone forcefully tugged your hair, I immediately stopped.

Oh well, it's fine.

I lied down and rested my head on Karen's stomach. There wasn't much feeling to it, unfortunately. Probably because it really was a dream.

I'll just have Sis give me a lap pillow or so later. Or a tummy pillow. Or, really, I just want to hug her. Ahh... Dream, can you end, please?

"No, the dream can't end yet, dear."

"Eh?"

A voice suddenly echoed through the fields. Surprised, I sat up and took a look around.

"... You again."

"My, my, what a rude welcome."

"I don't think one would usually welcome someone invading their dreams."

"Ahaha, you would be surprised. But, yes. I guess it's a little rude for me to just come in."

In front of me stood a little girl. Pink hair, pink eyes, white skin. And in her birthday suit.

"So, what do you want this time?"

"Aren't you really rude right now? I just wanted to congratulate you, dear."

"Congratulate?"

"Yes. You found a home, didn't you?"

Well, you could say I had. But why would she bother to congratulate me just for that?

"There's also a little more I wanted to tell you. No, actually I want to tell her. How about you sit up, I know you're aware already."

I turned around to the presumably sleeping Karen. Except her eyes were open. Wioth a isgh she sat and immediately pulled me into her lap.

"Mh... It feels a little bland here. But still somehow comfy. How odd."

"Sis, I'm not a measurement stick."

Not that I disliked it, that I was used to compare how good the dream felt.

"Well, it's a dream, what do you expect, child?"

"Something better. So, what is going on here? And... Yumi, what's up with this."

"I don't know."

Karen lifted the strand of hair that connected us.

"Oh, I'm here to explain that a little. Or rather, I'm here to explain a number of things. I hope you don't mind, do you?"

"You know what this is?"

Karen furrowed her brows in suspicion.

"My, my, not so impatient. I do know about it, dear. It's not the first time I see this, after all."

A deep smile adorned the little girl's face.

"It's proof of your connection."

"Connection?" I asked.

"Yes, dear. Your connection. Or rather, the connection of your souls."

"Eh?"

Our souls? What did she mean with that now?

"You already know that your dear Silver Guide, Karen, is an odd child among the demonkin, right? The legend of the demons. Well, whether it is true or not, is another thing, but one thing is for certain. She certainly possesses traits unique to the old demon race."

"Traits unique to the demon race?"

The girl in front of me raised her hand put her finger tip onto her lip, tilting her head.

"Now, my dear, what those could be? Ehehe..."

Somehow, I felt really irritated.

"My, I won't bully you so much today. I promise. Let's see, let's see. Ah, yes."

She held up her hands in front of herself, then, two glowing spheres appeared in her hands. One glowing in a deep silver, the other in a soft pink.

"Let's imagine that these two spheres are your respective souls. Souls by themselves are actually quite boring, they are more or less nothing to write home about. They are just something like, like a battery, that is giving the living creature the energy to work."

The spheres were glowing stronger, then weaker and then stronger again, constantly changing.

"A soul gets, let's say, tainted, over the course of a creature's life. This is what makes a soul unique. A soul is usually a blank slate, with nothing written on it. But the longer a creature lives, the more tainted and corrupted a soul becomes. And that, ultimately leads to this."

Yumias held out the hand with the silver sphere. The sphere was glowing, rapidly changing in size, collapsing and the expanding again. And during all of that, it became darker and darker.

"At one point the soul reaches its capacity. It cannot contain more. Still, it doesn't really matter for the creature. The soul only reached its capacity but it doesn't influence it in any way."

But, if it didn't even matter, what was the point of all of this?

As if Yumias knew about my confusion, she continued after a short pause.

"But long ago, there was a magic tribe that wondered what was happening with their souls, once they would die. Of course, they didn't know about the source, that cleanses a soul and brings it back into the cycle of life. They were obsessed with their souls and so they came to an odd conclusion. 'Our souls are too weak. They cannot survive our death.' It was a ridiculous conclusion, mind you. But they truly believed it."

She returned her hands to her original position, holding both glowing spheres up at the same height, right next to each other.

"So they devised a technique to strengthen their souls. But, how do you do such a thing? Simple. You take another person's soul."

"Eh?"

"Wha-"

Another person's soul? What? What the heck? Wasn't that, basically killing someone. Or rather, it was even worse than straightout killing.

"Now, no panic, yes. Neither of you are in danger of dying or losing your sense of self."

She tried to reassure us, but... was that really the case? She told us many things, but she also withheld information. That much was clear.

"Anyway, back to the topic. That tribe started to employ a technique with which they could fuse another's soul with their own, hoping their souls would grow strong enough and would survive even death. Only so they would be able to reincarnate, with their memories intact. Now, mind you, a soul is unable to carry memories, albeit a sufficiently tainted soul would be able to retain the owner's magic and their personality. But that's neither here nor there."

Yumias slowly walked around us, staring at the spheres in her hands. She stopped right in front of us.

"They succeeded in fusing their souls with the souls of others. But that brought about an unintended consequence. A soul cannot be simply inserted into any living being as is. The tribe's souls changed. And the tribe died out. Their children were born dead, the cleansed yet enlarged souls unable to fit. Of course, usually that wouldn't be an issue. Given sufficient time, there'd be new souls, the old souls would return to normal as well and the tribe would flourish once more. Alas, it shouldn't be. They revolted. Scared at the sudden infant deaths, they blamed the techniques of fusing a soul. They revolted, and the tribe perished in flames."

"..."

A wry smile was on Yumias face.

"A single spark was enough to doom the entire race. Such happens when the balance is tipped."

"... The balance?"

"Ah, don't mind me. That's not our topic. It's about what is happening to you."

Yumias coughed once, collecting herself.

"Now, of course since the tribe perished in its entirety, there isn't really much blood to inherit for the demonkin, right? In actuality, your ancestors found left behind material from that tribe they later called demons. They saw the research about strengthening your soul and they immediately thought they should try it as well. They modified themselves, capable of fusing with another's soul through various means. Drowning in lust, drinking blood or even consuming parts of their body. Anything was fine as long as it brought the souls closer to attempt fusion. Alas, they never got far and died before ever finishing their work. But, their victims survived. The ones they tested those techniques on."

"Wait, do you mean..."

Karen's eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, albeit increasingly more seldom, their descendants sometimes display those very same traits. So much to the backstory of your unique traits. But you are more interested in what it actually means, right?"

I could hear Karen gulp. She was anxious. Just as I was. This did involve us all.

"Honestly, there's not much of an effect. The techniques are imperfect and so, while both of your souls will fuse more and more they cannot fuse entirely. Those broken abilities are unable to overcome the taint contained within a soul. A newborn's soul might work, but that's about it."

"You say there's not much... but there are effects, right?"

"That's correct."

Yumias held up the spheres in front of our eyes. Then she moved them closer together, that both spheres were touching. Some of the colour began mixing with the other sphere.

"The effects are minor. Both of you take in mana and energy from each other's soul. That will display in a few physical traits, like the change in colour from your hair."

"That's it?"

She grinned, not answering Karen.

"There's something else, yes. It's nothing that will ever bother you, though, rest assured."

"So you won't tell us?"

"I won't. That's right."

"That's quite a bother..."

"Well now, dear Karen, I could have just not told you anything, right? Then you'd be in for quite a surprise once you wake up."

We'd be in quite a surprise? So, something happened after all?

"My, my, no need to glare at me, you two. It's not my fault, is it? I already told you, it's nothing that will really ever bother. In fact, with time, you might actually come to like it."

"Why not just tell us what it is about?"

"That'd be boring, wouldn't it? If I just tell you everything from the start, there'd be nothing left for you to do. And there'd be nothing left for me to watch."

Ah, so this was also just a form of entertainment, after all. I knew it.

Yumias giggled mischievously.

"Anyway, your dream will end soon, so I will excuse myself now. Ah, right. You shouldn't worry about the mercenaries. They are fine. For now. But, things will get interesting. See you later, my dear lost souls. Ehehehehehe..."

Her silhouette slowly faded into the background, disappearing, her laughter echoing through the fields.

"Is she always like this?" asked Karen.

"From what Lily said... Yes..."

"That sounds... really annoying."

I leaned back, snuggling close to Karen.

"Nn, a dream is no good."

"It really is. We should wake up."

"Nn, we should."

Snuggling up to each other and cuddling were by far better outside of the dreamworld.

"Nn..."

Warm, cozy. Comfy.

"Yumi."

"Nn?"

I slowly opened my eyes. A familiar face was right in front of me. It was very close. Close enough.

"Yu-, Mm?!"

"Mm... Ha..."

"Yumi, don't surprise me. Kissing me so suddenly."

"Nn... More..."

"Ah, wai-... Mm?!"

Karen slightly pushed me away.

"Ah, Yumi, you're really greedy, do you know that?"

"Nn. I know."

Could she blame me for it? Who wouldn't want to kiss their most important person? Probably only some oddball.

"Yumi, look."

"Nn? Oh."

Karen slightly lifted her upper body, her hair falling down. There was a large, pink strand running through her hair. It definitely wasn't possible to hide anymore.

"Was that what she mean with surprise?"

"I think so. Do you feel odd anywhere?"

"Nn, no. I feel fine. Actually, I feel really good."

I jumped into Karen's chest, ,causing her to fall onto her back.

"Nn."

"Ah, Yumi, stop that."

"But it's so soft."

"Well, of course, I'd be worried if my breasts aren't soft. Ah, wait, Yumi? What the heck are you doing?"

Obviously, I was rubbing my cheek onto her tummy now. It was so smooth, and the view was great too. It was a really lewd view. Regardless whether I looked down or up.

Ah... I, uh... Now I want to continue from earlier...

A little troublesome. It wouldn't be a joke if I got horny all the time.

"Yumi, is that fun?"

"It is."

"Haa..."

Regardless of me being horny, I continued to rub my cheek on her tummy. It was so smooth and soft.

After rubbing a while to get my fill, I rolled around, resting my head on Karen's stomach.

"Sis."

"Mh?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Yumi."

"Ehehe."

I felt like I would drown in happiness. Really. And yet, I wanted even more of it. I wanted more and more love. And I wanted to give more and more love.

I sat up and turned around, crawling right over Karen.

"Hey, Sis."

"Yes?"

"One more?"

"... You're so greedy."

She put her arms around my neck neck and pulled me in for a kiss. A long and deep one.

"Don't regret it."

"I won't"

We embraced each other once more.

What do you treasure the most? Is it an object? Or a person? Is it your believes, your ideals or maybe your hobby?  There are many things you can treasure, but there is only one thing you can treasure the most. For many it might be an object, for most it is probably a person. Knowing what you treasure the most, what will you do? Will you protect it? Will you fight for it? Or will you care for it? Neglect it? Destroy it? Or love it?

Lily and Maya protect what is most important for them. Sele fights for it. Emily cherishes it. Rina cares for it.

Karen loves it.

There are many ways to show your affection. How do you show it? Have you gone to them and told them "I love you"? Have you given them a hug, a pat on the head? Did you hold their hand, did you wipe their tears?

Did you do all of them?

Or did you do none?

Show your affection. Show your love. Because we are scared. Worried. We will wonder 'Do you still love us'? We will think 'They don't care for us'. That's why, show it to us. Reassure us. So we can reply in kind and tell you "I love you". We will be waiting. For along time.

For an eternal time.

Forever, shall we wait.

For the words of our most beloved.

We love you.

We love you the most.

Rinne