“Fuuuuuuuuck…”

  Kagura uncharacteristically groaned and cursed, collapsing into the table and planting her face right into it.

  I raised an eyebrow at her.

  “I take it Spirit Studies didn’t go too well?”

  “Yeah,” she mumbled, her voice barely coherent over the chatter of the dining hall, “fucking professors, always asking me how the extra credit is going and just assuming I’ll get full marks and shit just because I’m the eldest daughter of the Tsukiyo family… I’ll rip their fucking nuts off and seal their assholes shut.”

  I rolled my eyes, idly mixing slippery white rice noodles into a bright red oily sauce.

  My nose was struck by a fragrant aroma of intense garlic and scallions, dulled slightly by the sweet smokiness of minced pork.

  “Well, maybe you should stop getting full marks and doing the extra credit stuff all the time. They only have that expectation for a reason, you know?”

  “Ugh,” Kagura reeled in disgust, her face still planted firmly into the table, “yeah, and then deal with my mother’s disappointment? She’ll kill me. That is, if I don’t do it first and jump off Hinanhoro to escape the embarrassment. I’m not going to let some fucking no name upstart country hick take my place and dismantle my family’s storied tradition of holding first place in that subject’s rankings for the entirety of Nindo’s history.”

  I slurped up my noodles incredibly loudly, not really caring much for her dramatics.

  We had spent over five years together, most of her antics relating to her pride as the Tsukiyo heiress and her sheltered upbringing in nobility were fairly commonplace to me to by now.

  “You know,” I mumbled as I chewed, “I wonder what Strahl would have to say at being called ‘some fucking no name upstart country hick’.”

  “Grhgk.”

  I saw her shoulders flinch, and a hint of red creep up on her concealed cheeks.

  “Are you still mad about the incident where his spirits chewed off half your hair?”

  “Shut up!” Kagura shot up, glaring at me with a blush, “we agreed not to talk about that!”

  She huffed, sliding her lunch tray closer to her.

  “And it must be easy for you to speak! There’s no pressure on you to perform at all! You’re doing terrible!”

  I just laughed about it.

  “Well, no, there is pressure, I’ve just stopped caring about it. And besides, even if my grades aren’t the best alone, I can always just pull everyone together for a study session!”

  “Yeah, wow, look at Miss Popular over here,” Kagura rolled her eyes, “gets to have a fun time crowding up restaurants and cafes on the weekends while I have to be stuck at home studying my ass off lest Mother decides that I’m slacking off again.”

  It was at that moment Setsuna hobbled towards us, a glower set on her face as she trudged towards the table with a slight, but noticeable limp.

  “Oh, hey,” Kagura half-heartedly waved towards her, thoroughly drained of energy.

  She was met with an angry slam of the table as a signature pile of food was set down onto it.

  The swordswoman simply huffed and scowled, silently tearing away at the mountain of slop in front of her.

  Her wrist was notably shaky, moving languidly as it brought food to her mouth.

  “Rough day for all of us, hm?” I laughed.

  I reached to side to grab my staff, letting a small wisp of light flow from it towards Setsuna, relieving the sores and aches from her body.

  Still, even after the pain was relieved, the agitation set on her face did not leave.

  “Wow, look at that, even the mighty Setsuna is being humbled by the sixth year at Nindo,” Kagura raised an amused eyebrow.

  The cobalt-haired girl shot her a glare, but made no verbal comment otherwise.

  Around a minute later, the final member of our team showed up, dragging himself towards the table with a limp leg, wincing and groaning with every step he took.

  He groaned as he reached the table, and much like his cousin, collapsed into it face-first, forgetting his food off to the side.

  I tapped him on his back with my staff, letting my magic do its work.

  “Thanks, Estelle…”

  Much like the other melee combatant, while it may have relieved the physical pains, it did nothing to quell the mental exhaustion.

  “The hell are they putting the two of you through?” Kagura grimaced, seeing their dour expressions.

  “Don’t even get me started…”

  “Tch.”

  Kagura couldn’t help but prod the bull.

  It wasn’t often that an opportunity to provoke Setsuna outside of her poor pen-and-paper grades came around. It was even rarer to see her knocked down a peg within her own field of expertise.

  “Oh, wow, tell me, what do you think about what you said at the end of last year when our seniors warned us about the sixth year? Who turned their nose up, huffed, and arrogantly dismissed what they called ‘trite claims and pitiful attempts to massage thine ego’?”

  I heard a growl.

  I think Setsuna’s spoon might have bent.

  “Well,” I smiled wryly, “I guess they weren’t kidding when they called it the ‘hell year’, hm?”

  “Never thought the professors would have been holding back so much on us earlier,” Kagura shuddered, recalling a particularly vicious memory, “remind me to never ask the headmaster to give us a personal demonstration on magic ever again. Or to anger him when we graduate.”

  “Well, Nindo has to get its reputation from somewhere,” I chided her lightly, “do you think they’ll just invite anyone to teach here? They have to be capable of reigning in even future S-Rank talent, like Setsuna over there. You know, Mother got an offer once, that’s the level they’re asking for.”

  “Hinanhoro… I just wanna move onto the seventh year, get me out of the hell year, man…” Hayate continued to mumble, “I wanna get to the ‘heaven year’ already.”

  “What do you think the seventh-years are doing right now?” Kagura idly muttered.

  “Probably relaxing somewhere… going on vacation at some stupid summer resort… meanwhile we’re still here suffering… ughhhhhhhhh.”

  “Going to a resort?” Kagura raised an eyebrow, “why is that what you’re thinking of? Is that what your father is going to do when you apprentice under him next year?”

  Hayate sputtered, suddenly shooting up in his seat in embarrassment.

  I giggled.

  “Oh, come on now, Kagura, give him a break. Don’t read too much into his statement, he’s just jealous that they don’t have to be on campus anymore. I’m sure his father will do what’s best for his education next year.”

  The shrine maiden just shrugged, returning to her meal.

  “T-thanks, E-Estelle,” Hayate chuckled awkwardly, blushing a bit.

  He seemed to catch himself in his own embarrassment, wriggling weirdly and cringing at his own behaviour, coughing and shaking his head as he desperately tried to stabilise himself.

  He still tended to act a bit nervously around me after last year’s incident, but still, I appreciated that he was trying his best to steer us back to normality, and that he didn’t take things too badly.

  “Well, speaking of,” Kagura frowned, stopping briefly to swallow her food, “have you all decided who you’re apprenticing under next year? Well, aside from Hayate, presumably.”

  The red-haired boy just scratched his head and sighed, lifelessly poking at his own lunch.

  “Yeah, wish my dad was less decisive in that regard, and cared a bit less about my education… it feels like I’m already running to two different schools at once, since Dad’s already basically starting my apprenticeship on the weekends.”

  Nindo had a bit of a strange system when it came to its years.

  While technically, there were seven years at Nindo, the last two were drastically different compared to the first five, leading to a saying that had apparently been running through Nindo’s halls for centuries, going back all the way to its establishing years.

  ‘Man’s Realm forsaken, descend unto the Hell Realm. Climb the wheel to Heaven, and when the cycle completes, return to Man anew.’

  It was a bit of a mouthful, and a bit old-timey, as expected of an ancient saying, but it did its job, and managed to survive the years, eventually passing down from one group of sixth-years to the next group.

  It came from Nindo’s name, which in the language of Tenmai, referred to Manusyara itself, known as ‘the Human Realm’. The Hell Realm and Heaven Realm, of course, were two of the other Six Realms.

  The sixth year at Nindo was essentially the final formal year of education, and where students would be pushed to their utmost limits, both as teams and as individuals.

  Even Setsuna, one of very few students to ever be projected to graduate Nindo and immediately register as an S-Rank, was blindsided by the immense climb in harshness during classes, and found herself struggling to emerge uninjured from practical lessons.

  It really must have been Hell for those who didn’t have a healer on their team.

  The brutal sixth year was not without reason, though.

  It was the last time the team you grew to know and bond with would spend a whole year together in the dorms.

  Because the seventh year, while you would sometimes return to Nindo every couple of weeks, would mostly be spent undertaking an apprenticeship with a mentor and sponsor.

  I finished swallowing my food before talking.

  “Well, what about you?” I gulped, “I’m surprised you aren’t going to your mother, given family tradition and all.”

  “I think if I apprenticed under my mother I would die,” Kagura deadpanned.

  She paused briefly, considering something.

  “Also, I think if I asked to apprentice under her, she would kill me on the spot,” she frowned, “she’d probably see it as a sign of weakness like I’m a baby bird who refuses to leave the nest or something. I wouldn’t be surprised if she just disowned me.”

  “Aw, come on,” Hayate chuckled, “Auntie’s not that bad, she spoils me whenever I come over! I’m sure she loves you!”

  “Yeah, because you’re her nephew, not her daughter,” Kagura rolled her eyes, “and she does love me. That’s exactly the problem. A little less family pride would be nice every once in a while.”

  She shuddered, thinking of her mother’s discipline.

  To distract herself, she turned to look at me.

  “Also, I could ask the same of you, we’re not the only ones with famous family members. What about you, not apprenticing under Lady Symphonia?”

  I smiled wryly and shook my head.

  “Mother’s a runic ritual mage who either stays holed up in her lab all day or spends the week in her workshop at Arden. I’m not exactly sure what I could learn from her as someone who plans to travel a lot. Luna would probably appreciate her tutelage a lot more than me.”

  “Huh, fair enough, I guess,” Kagura blinked, “still, has anyone made any early offers? Our mail back home is getting swarmed with requests.”

  “Not really,” I shrugged, “not exactly gonna get offers from Citadel ‘witches’, am I? Or any bishops or cardinals or priestess of Sol for that matter.”

  I chuckled in chagrin.

  Well, in the absolute worst-case scenario, I’m sure Auntie Chang’e wouldn’t mind letting me hitch a ride with her for a year.

  At the very least, it would be nice to see my ‘cousins’ again.

  “Tough luck, hm?” Kagura clicked her tongue, before swinging her gaze towards the other girl in our team, “How about you, Setsuna?”

  She moved to take a sip of water while waiting for an answer.

  “Hmph,” Setsuna dismissed the thought with her typical arrogant huff, “there shall only be one master in my life, I refuse to call any other man or woman ‘Sensei’. Besides, the swordsmen of these lands have nothing worthy to add to mine art. My master’s blade is all that I require.”

  “Oh, wow, look at you, so above being taught by adults.”

  “Exactly,” Setsuna ignored her sarcastic tone, “and there shall be no one who will move my resolution, no matter thy prestige nor wisdom. No matter how capable or fearsome thou may prove thyself to be, even if they best mine adolescent art, there is nary a swordsman worthy of kneeling to. Or others, too, for that matter. Even many wizards and witches seek my apprenticeship, but all of them I shall turn down.”

  “Oh, joy,” Kagura rolled her eyes.

  “Even the headmaster himself, I shall not accept.”

  “Even the he-” Kagura blinked.

  She spat out her water.

  “WHAT!?”

  She slammed her hands on the table and pointed an accusing finger at Setsuna.

  “THE HEADMASTER MADE YOU AN OFFER TO PERSONALLY TAKE YOU UNDER HIS WING, AND YOU TURNED IT DOWN!?”

  The swordswoman just nodded simply.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Yes. I saw no point in accepting thy tutelage. The matter of my pride aside, I do not see what there is to be learned from a decrepit bag of bones.”

  “YOU NEED TO GO BACK RIGHT NOW AND GROVEL, DEAR FUCKING HINANHORO! DO IT OR I’LL DO IT FOR YOU!”

  Setsuna just furrowed her brow.

  “Tsukiyo, I understand that thou art jealous, and the headmaster is a fine wizard, but thy reaction art overdramatic.”

  I looked around, for some reason hearing bone-chilling laughter echoing… somewhere… in the distance.

  Was it just me, or did that sound like the headmaster?

  No way, right?

  That was just a coincidence, and I was probably just tricking myself into hearing it as his voice since he was being mentioned.

  “Setsuna, I need you to understand that this is for your own good,” Kagura narrowed her eyes, leaning in and hissing at the confused swordswoman, “take it from someone who’s seen just how petty he can be at galas and upper-class gatherings, and someone who has experienced a practical lesson of his first-hand. You need to accept, he’s not going to take no for an answer. Please, do it before he calls a meteor down on our dormitory. I need a place to sleep that isn’t home.”

  “Thou need not worry,” Setsuna shook her head and chuckled, “thy jest is humorous, but I shall be fine. Besides, ‘twould be a nice break, returning to the life of a vagrant, not being shackled to a dorm.”

  “...”

  Setsuna paused.

  “Thou art not laughing.”

  She frowned.

  “Thou… art jesting, no? Surely one as wise and old as the headmaster would not do something as silly and petty as destroying our place of rest just because I turned down thy offer.”

  “Setsuna,” Kagura grimly stared at her.

  I swear I heard that laughter again.

  I did my best not to think about it.

  Maybe I should find somewhere else to sleep for the time being.

  Just to be safe.

  I sighed, cleaning up the pots and pans as I set dinner down on the table.

  “Luna!” I shouted, “Dinner’s ready!”

  I hummed as I washed the cookware with a bright smile on my face.

  Luna had been struggling, looking a bit tired as of late, so I went out of my way to make a nice treat for her, French onion soup.

  Or, well, I guess it wasn’t really ‘French’ here, it was just ‘onion soup’.

  My little sister had always loved it, it was one of her favourites; deep, rich savoury sweetness of caramelised onions in a thick and almost creamy texture, a mound of crispy golden bread that broke apart with a spoon with the most satisfying crunch, all topped off with a layer of stretchy, gooey baked cheese.

  As I finished up and placed the pot aside to dry, Mother came in behind me, picking up one of the bowls on the counter for herself.

  That was strange.

  Usually, Mother would be the one who was late to arrive, since she was busy in her laboratory all day.

  I frowned.

  “Mother, have you seen Luna?”

  Her yellow eyes swung to look at me.

  Mother just shrugged.

  “Nah,” she frowned, “if I were to hazard a guess though, if she’s anything like I was when I was younger… which she is… she’s probably holed up in the library again.”

  I sighed.

  “Yeah, that sounds about right these days…”

  I missed when she was younger, when there was nothing she would think about but good food and books, when every night at the dinner table was a new miracle to discover for her.

  Well, this sort of recklessness was cute in its own way.

  It reminded of me in my previous life, when I would also recklessly pull all-nighters every weekend.

  Yes, back then, I didn’t have to care or worry about whether or not I even had food, I could go hungry for days knowing that I could fix that measly hunger whenever I wanted.

  Because my parents were still around, always knocking on my door, being worried for me, always loving me, always having food prepared right outside my doorstep.

  Well, it seems the wheel would keep on turning.

  That love would be passed on.

  My parents to me, and now me to Luna.

  “Alright,” I shook my head, smiling wryly, “I’ll go hand this off to her.”

  “Mhm,” Mother nodded idly, smiling fondly herself, “that sure brings back memories, hm? I remember when I was her age myself… lock myself up in the library all day and not budge even when it was time to sleep. Just relied on him to bring me food every day. I just let that part of life become routine, didn’t even question it.”

  She chuckled.

  “Like mother, like daughter, eh?” She chortled lightly, “Take care of her, will you?”

  “Why don’t you help me?” I rolled my eyes, strolling past her towards the door.

  “What, you think a kid her age will listen to me?” Mother snorted, “Yeah, no thanks, I know how that goes. Been there myself. She might look up to me, but no way she’ll listen to me. You’re the only one who has a shot at getting through to her.”

  She lazily waved me goodbye as I disappeared up the stairs.

  Luna had been working very hard lately. It was almost astounding.

  I was pulling all-nighters in my previous life just to get decent grades at a normal school.

  But Luna was pulling all-nighters to try and leap forwards another grade.

  She was in her third year now, taking most of the fourth year classes when it came to the pen-and-paper subjects, and she was currently cramming all night long, trying to force her way into the fifth year of classes.

  It wouldn’t be long before she succeeded. She was just that kind of girl, in the end.

  Well, I was a bit worried about the physical side of things, though.

  Poor girl could have stood to put a bit more meat on her bones. Her stamina was still rather pitiful.

  Her increasingly terrible eating habits weren’t helping her in that regard.

  It didn’t take long to find her.

  Amidst the growing summer darkness of the library, the flickering candles by the tableside were easy to spot.

  As usual, there was a pile of books beside her.

  A constant subtle echo of flipping pages rubbing against each other resounded through the empty library, broken every once in a while by the scratch of a pencil inside a notebook.

  It was peaceful.

  I placed the bowl down on the table and slid it towards her.

  “Come on, Luna,” I tapped the bowl lightly, emphasising its presence, “you missed my call for dinner, take a break and eat.”

  “Buzz off, Sis,” Luna mumbled, shooing me away, “I didn’t miss it, I just ignored it. I don’t need to eat right now, I’ll do it later when I’m hungry.”

  She didn’t even look up at me.

  I could see even from here that the bags under her eyes were getting intense.

  Her hair was even more dishevelled than usual.

  I sighed pitifully.

  “You need to eat, you know~” I poked her cheek and chided her, “You’re not going to have the energy to study on an empty stomach, how are you going to focus if you’re hungry?”

  I aggressively shifted the bowl back and forth, letting the steam carry the appetising smell of caramelised onions to her nose.

  Her nose wrinkled.

  She scowled, shoving my finger away.

  “Sure, that might be true for you. But I’m not like you, I’m going to get into the Citadel and get accepted as a proper witch like Mother! It’s because of stuff like ‘only being able to focus when you’re not hungry’ that everyone else is laughing at you! I’m not going to let that stop me!”

  I giggled.

  My little sister really was cute.

  It was like looking at a younger version of myself, before I was Estelle Symphonia.

  I used to think the same way too, before I started travelling.

  It would be nice if she could stay this spoiled forever.

  “Mhm mhm, sure sure,” I waved her remarks off, “come on, I made one of your favourites, onion soup, I’m not going to leave until you eat it, you know?”

  Luna rolled her eyes, aggressively pushing the bowl away from herself.

  “I don’t have time to waste eating! I need to finish a year’s worth of assignments before summer break comes!”

  “Aw, don’t be like that~” I grinned, poking her in the cheek again, “you’re not gonna get into the Citadel as a shambling corpse who doesn’t eat food, you know? There’s more to being a witch than just reading and writing all day. Even witches need to eat too, it’s not like they can just sustain themselves with mana.”

  “What would you know about being a witch!?” Luna shouted, slamming her book shut and glaring at me with bloodshot, tired eyes, “Don’t you dare lecture me about what that word means! You think I don’t hear how everyone keeps talking about you!? They way they all whisper snidely, making fun of you, mocking you for being Mother’s daughter!? Why don’t you care!? Why don’t you do anything to try to fight back!? Why do you just let them talk down on you like that, why don’t you do anything to fix it!? You just let them curse you all day about this and that, about being a stupid fucking healer instead of a proper witch and the daughter of someone who researches the Void! You’re a disgrace of a witch! I’m not going to be like you.”

  I just laughed at her petulance, letting her words fly right past me as I pat her on the head.

  “There there~” I smiled as she shook, glaring at me in frustration, “calm down now.”

  I raised an amused eyebrow.

  “Of course I care about being a witch, what makes you think I don’t?”

  Luna swatted my hand away.

  “Shut up! Go play with your stupid friends or whatever, go organise another one of those study groups or whatever with all of those swordsmen or whatever! Give me some quiet so at least one of us doesn’t end up disappointing Mother and her status!”

  I chuckled.

  Did she think Mother would be disappointed in her if she failed to get into the Citadel?

  Did she think I was disappointing Mother by not trying to change what they thought about me?

  Was that what a ‘witch’ meant to Luna? Being someone who tried to live up to the opinions and expectations of others? Was it just a fancy certificate handed to her by the Citadel of Magi?

  Mother wasn’t someone so fragile or shallow.

  Yearning for that impossible dream disallowed such a thing.

  If she cared about such sentiments, she would have collapsed the moment she earned her scholarship as a child.

  No, being a ‘witch’ meant something different to her. It meant stopping at nothing to see your dreams come true. It meant having the strength to disregard what others thought about your way of life.

  It was a declaration to the world that you would do the impossible, you would create miracles and deny tragedies.

  That was what it meant to Belle Symphonia, and that was what she passed down to Estelle Symphonia.

  That was why I didn’t say anything back or try to disprove what they thought about me. I simply had no need to care. I did my best where I could, and I put my life on the line to fulfil my oath.

  It just so happened that nothing in my oath said anything about ‘getting high grades in Magical Theory’.

  It seemed my little sister was a little bit slow in picking up that lesson, though.

  I sighed wistfully.

  “Come on, Luna, it’ll just take ten minutes. It won’t be long, just gobble it up with your spoon and be done with it, and then I’ll stop annoying you and you can go back to studying!” I laughed, “I really don’t care about anything other than making sure you eat well, you can do whatever you like, big sis doesn’t mind~”

  Luna huffed as she looked away, opening her book again with a snarl as she rubbed her tired eyes.

  “Leave it on the dining table. I’ll grab it before midnight.”

  Then, she reflexively sniffled, letting that whiff of sweet onion trickle through her nostrils.

  And her stomach growled.

  The noise echoed through the silent library.

  I heard it ring in my ears.

  My smile twitched, growing brittle.

  I felt that familiar mania return – the long forgotten nonsensical, reasonless hysteric voice at the back of my mind that plagued the first few months of my life in Manusyara.

  Starvation.

  My fingers tightened around the spoon in my hand.

  What was it you said about that word?

  What was it that you promised yourself you wouldn’t let her feel?

  “Luna,” my voice froze, “eat.”

  She bristled at the tone of my voice.

  “N-no,” she moved to push the bowl away from herself, her voice a bit nervous, “I’ll do it after I finish this. Don’t break my concentration.”

  My hand shot out to push against her own, locking the bowl in place.

  She desperately tried to shove it away, but it was of no use.

  Our physical strength was not within the same realm of comparison. Not only was I four years older than year, she was one of the frailest members of her cohort, while I was the only witch capable of keeping up with most of the frontliners in my year.

  “That wasn’t a request.”

  My smile fell, my gaze froze.

  My glare shifted towards the book she was opening.

  I leaned over and grabbed it, eliciting a yelp from her.

  “S-Sister!”

  I forced it shut and pushed it off the table.

  “Eat.”

  I shoved the bowl towards her, digging the spoon straight through the blanket of cheese, letting an almost sickening crunch of bread crackle across the room.

  “S-Sister?” She blinked up at me.

  I snatched her jaw, pulling it open.

  “L-let go!”

  She wriggled, hitting me and trying to force me away.

  I ignored her words and wrenched the spoon up, carrying with it a chunk of the crouton along with some soup.

  I forced it into her mouth, moving her jaw shut and making her chew.

  She froze.

  Then on her own, she started to chew.

  I smiled again, and let warmth enter my eyes.

  “See, it’s good, isn’t it? Don’t you like it?”

  Luna blushed, nodding shyly.

  I let go of the spoon, letting it dangle from her mouth.

  She gingerly picked it up.

  I let go of her jaw.

  Luna stared at the bowl of soup in front of her.

  Her stomach gurgled again, dissatisfied with the measly spoonful it had gotten.

  Her blush deepened.

  Slowly, her spoon inched back towards the bowl, carving out another chunk of the bread.

  She ate slowly and nervously under my watchful gaze.

  I chuckled.

  “See, that wasn’t that hard, was it?”

  She nodded silently.

  I folded and linked my fingers together, letting my chin rest on them as I watched her eat.

  It was an awkward silence, only worsened by my cheery attitude.

  It didn’t take long for her to finish, less than ten minutes, just like I said.

  “T-thank you, S-Sister,” she mumbled, pushing the cleaned out bowl towards me.

  I traced the edge of the porcelain bowl with my fingers.

  “You know, Luna…” I smiled fondly, remembering the little girl she used to be.

  She used to be so naive and excitable, all it took to make her hyperactive was to put a book in her general vicinity.

  A long time had passed since then.

  Still, no matter who she was, no matter who she wanted to become, one truth still remained.

  She was Luna Symphonia, she was my little sister, and I would always love her.

  “You wanting to work hard to get into the Citadel to become a witch, whatever that word might mean to you, I don’t mind it. I don’t mind that you’re studying all night and waking up in the afternoon. It happens to all of us at one point.”

  I shook my head.

  “I only really care about three things in the end.”

  Yellow eyes blinked owlishly at me.

  “I pray every night that you’re fed well, that you sleep in a warm blanket, and that you spend time with your friends and are happy with them.”

  I flicked her forehead.

  Mother was rubbing off on me.

  She flinched lightly.

  “Make sure Mika isn’t too lonely, okay? She’s a nice girl, her siblings are good friends of mine. Don’t leave her behind while you’re trying to do all of this stuff. You’ll still need to spend time with your team for your practical classes, even if you skip ahead for all your magic-based ones, you know?”

  She flushed, nodding sheepishly.

  “Are your blankets okay? Not too hot? It is summer now, let me know if you need me to change them.”

  “T-they’re fine.”

  “Alright, I won’t bother you anymore then,” I chuckled, ruffling her messy hair, “have a good night. Hope your tests go well for you. Good luck, and make sure to sleep well, okay?”

  I picked the bowl up and turned around, leaving her to her own business.

  There was no need to lecture and chastise her.

  She wasn’t in need of discipline or anything.

  She was a smart enough girl.

  She would come to learn these things on her own.

  I went back to the kitchen and picked up the abandoned third bowl by the counter, originally meant for me.

  I took my time eating it, just enjoying the cool summer evening and spending time alone with my thoughts.

  I wondered how all the elves were holding up in Shugokage.

  It wasn’t that bad in the Yrd’ll Mountains because of the altitude.

  Summer vacation wasn’t too far away. July was just around the corner.

  “Hmm…”

  That day was coming up soon.

  I had to see if I could put together something special.

  After I was done eating, I took the bowls to the sink and washed them.

  …

  I should probably check up on Luna again. She was tired. Maybe I should have made her some tea.

  I went back up to the library.

  It was quiet.

  Not even the sound of rustling, flipping pages remained.

  Small, dim candles lit the shelves and tables.

  “Luna?” I called out for her.

  I received no response.

  I crept around the corner, making sure not to make any loud noises and disrupt her.

  I found the table where she was sitting earlier.

  Oh.

  There she was.

  Luna was slumped over the table, folding her arms in front of her, her shoulders slowly rising up and down.

  She was sleeping.

  I giggled.

  I shuffled myself closer to her, and gently picked her up onto my back.

  She groaned softly in her sleep.

  Well, I couldn’t let her sleep here. It would be bad for her back, and it would be cold without covers.

  I sighed as I hitched her higher up onto my back, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and over my neck.

  Who would be there to pick her up after she fell asleep at a desk after I graduated Nindo and started travelling with Setsuna?

  I didn’t want her developing bad habits.

  Well, at the very least, for now, I was here, and I could help her get to bed.

  That would have to be good enough for now.

  I hoped it would be good enough for the future, too.

  Really, what a troublesome girl.

  “Mm… Estelle…” Luna mumbled in her sleep.

  Yes, yes.

  I smiled, rolling my eyes.

  Don’t worry, Luna.

  Your sister will always be here for you.

  Have sweet dreams, okay?