Novel Reincarnation of A Worthless Man

Hello, I'm writing a story called "Reincarnation of A Worthless Man", you can also read this story at here and here.

In fact, don't read it here since I barely even update here. Go to Scribblehub. Or better yet, my Patreon.

Synopsis:
"Argh, how did my life end up like this?!"

There was once a boy who's well-loved and popular with his peers. His smile could melt an adult's heart and his easygoing and sweet nature attracted a lot of girls who became his admirers.

Little did he know that such a blessed life wouldn't last forever.

Now, he is an ugly, overweight adult, working a job he doesn't like, and leading a life he doesn't want. No women want to be near him, let alone be his girlfriend, or even his wife. He is an oversized gear in a machine that doesn't even welcome him.

When he gets fired from his job, it is the last straw from him. He remembers his life as a kid, and now good and beautiful it was.

"I don't want this. I don't want this anymore!"

"I would be better off dead than having to live like this for a second longer!"

Suicidal, he passes by a flooding river, as there is a storm that day. He immediately thinks of throwing himself there, ending it once and for all.

And he does. But not because he actually has the balls to kill himself via drowning, but because he sees a little girl being carried down the river by the strong current.

In a split second, he decides that it would be better if she lives, even if he has to die in the process.

And he does. He saves her, throwing her into the side of the river. But then his legs, rarely ever used, suddenly cramp. He can do nothing as he is swallowed by the waves.

"Aah, it would be nice if I could be reincarnated into a fantasy world, like in those stories... I can do it all over, and do it better this time around..."

His wish is granted. When he wakes up, he's no longer his old, adult self. He's a baby, living in an entirely new world.

This is his story.
------

This story would have both happiness and hardships, heartwarming and sad moments, as well as romance that doesn't just end in a kiss. This is a harem story that will end up in a genuine polygamous relationship. It's also an adventure story, though it would stay as a slice-of-life for a good while as MC grows up.


Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Isekai, Harem, Romance

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10

 

Chapter 1: How It All Began

Before I realized it, I was stuck inside a baby’s body.

I thought I had died. I should’ve died. I remembered how painful it was, for water to enter my lungs. It lasted for a good few horrifying minutes until I finally lost my consciousness. It was like a really, really bad asthma attack, and I was certainly familiar with those, having it for most of my life.

But then, when I woke up, I was already a baby.

At first, I thought I was in Hell, and my new state is my personal torture. To be stuck in a baby’s body forever, unable to do anything.

But then, when my mother picked me up and kissed me warmly in the cheeks, I knew that this place couldn’t be Hell. Not even Purgatory.

In fact, it felt closer to Heaven for me.

I was reborn to a well-off family. We live in a small mansion in the countryside, far away from the hustle and bustle of modern city life that I was used to. The air was fresh and the scenery was green.

It was truly my kind of a dream house.

Unfortunately, you can’t really live in a house like this in Japan. Unless you’re some rich guy who can afford not to slave away in our big cities.

My brother and sister certainly could, I imagine, but knowing their personality, they wouldn’t be interested in such a leisurely, and dare I say it, lazy life. They love the hustle and bustle of the modern era, where you only got a few hours of sleep and no rest even on weekends and holidays.

I was jealous of that drive they had.

If only I was more like them, I would’ve become a better person perhaps.

Or at the very least, I would hate myself less.

But on the other hand, my lazy side detested them for it, thinking they, and many others like them, are just perpetuating the brutal work culture that us Japanese are famous for abroad.

Yeah, I still read the news. Sometimes.

Anyways, back to my new life, I enjoyed my new life as a baby, despite the humiliating fact that I couldn’t control my bladder and bowels whatsoever. I just have to cry to get my parents’ attention when that happened, so they would hurry to change my diaper.

And, as much as it shames me to admit this, I enjoy being coddled by them that way. I have no worries whatsoever. It was an easy life, full of love that my parents showered onto me.

The moment I could crawl however, I started exploring around, just so I can get a better understanding on the kind of house I’m currently living in.

When I scraped my knee from it, it was where I learned that this was a world where magic existed, as my mother healed the wound instantly with what I assumed to be a healing spell.

And in that moment, my eyes were opened.

The vaguely European-like features and looks that my parents had and their medieval-looking clothes, and the fact that there was no electricity whatsoever, and now the discovery of magic actually existing.

I was in a medieval fantasy world!

I couldn’t believe it at first, but as I picked up more and more conversations between my parents (I can start to understand them at this point), it was completely proven to be true.

There was no doubt now.

I was in another world entirely.

-----

Born to a family of three, I was the middle child with one older brother and one little sister.

At first, I was just like them, a bright child with a bright future. At elementary school, not to brag or anything, I was quite famous for being the smartest, and the cutest kid in class. I was always smiling; always cheerful. I had many friends, and even many more secret admirers. It was a blessed, happy life.

It all changed when I was in Junior high.

Like the naive idiot I was, I came to the defense of a girl being harassed by a group of bullies. Back then, I was all over the idea of being a defender of justice, protector of the weak and shield of the innocent.

Only to end up being beaten up so bad that I had to be hospitalized afterwards.

I didn't do it the cool way either. I stopped fighting the moment I fell to the ground. I begged them to stop with tears in my eyes, completely overwhelmed by the pain I received by them kicking me repeatedly in the stomach. And when I lost my consciousness, I soiled myself, with the girl I was supposed to save watching all of it.

My family, naturally, tried to sue the school, but thanks to the parents of the bully group’s leader being a significant donor of the private school, not to mention his links with both the government and the Yakuza, the suit didn’t go anywhere. The bullies only got a simple probation, and they continued to terrorize the school afterwards.

For me, however, it traumatized me completely.

I refused to go to school for an entire year afterwards. My fear of the bullies was so much that I couldn’t even step outside the house without a panic attack. My family tried a number of therapists, but none of them could really cure the fear that had rooted deeply into my heart.

I suppose for my naive little self, it was the very first time he was faced with the harsh reality of the world.

When I went back to school, on a new one, naturally, my grades dropped significantly. I stopped smiling, and I became a recluse. I started avoiding real life altogether, submerging myself in fictional worlds instead through books, anime, and video games. Those three were my only escape in my one year of absence. My favorites were always stories where the hero prevailed over evil, over the injustices they faced, no doubt influenced by my condition.

At high school, my addiction only continued, leading to me failing my entrance exam to Tokyo University, even though all my other siblings managed to do so.

I acted like it didn’t matter. “College isn’t everything after all,” I argued to myself. “What’s actually important is what comes after.”

And indeed, I was right.

My older brother became a successful young CEO while my little sister became a forefront scientist at CERN, researching quantum mechanics and all that fancy science stuff.

As for me, I only got an office job so ordinary that it wasn’t even worth noting.

I couldn’t escape the truth anymore.

I had become a failure.

Depression took in, and I started eating and sleeping unhealthily, ruining what good looks I used to have before. I became fat, and perverted as well, as I masturbated daily to pictures of anime girls I found on the internet. My hormones didn't get a normal release with a girlfriend or even a wife, like my brother. He was already married, and with a hot wife too. Just another list of reasons to be jealous of him.

At this time, I still was an avid reader of hero fantasy, particularly of the isekai genre. I especially loved the wish-fulfillment aspect of them. Took me away from my crappy life, even if for just a moment.

However, I always took issue whenever the hero did something I would never do myself. Like being a pervert to the girls, or being a jerk for no reason.

If I were reincarnated to a fantasy world like them, I would never do what they're doing!

Yeah, I still kept my white knight tendencies, even after all these years.

And then, I was fired from my job.

They were downsizing, and I was one of the employees they deemed useless.

It broke me. I worked there for ten years, having to bear being pushed around by my co-workers and having my work's credit being stolen.

I was afraid. Afraid that what happened at my youth would happen all over again if I spoke up.

In the rain, I walked.

I walked and I walked and I walked, not really knowing where my feet were taking me.

And then, I saw her. A girl carried away by the river's heavy current.

I looked around. There was no one else nearby.

It had to be me.

...Ah screw it, my life is not worth living anyways!

I jumped. And with whatever strength I had, I caught up to her and carried her to the side.

I couldn't even swim.

When I was done however, I failed to get my own self to the shore, as my legs suddenly went into a terrible cramp.

...So this is it, huh?

Well, at least I actually got to be a hero this time around.

And so I drowned.

All with a smile on my face.

Never would I imagine that I would reincarnate myself. All like in those stories I loved to read.

----

I quickly learned how to read. I must know more about this world and the quickest way to do so that wouldn’t freak out my parents, would be to learn it through books.

Unfortunately, our house only has a couple of them. It seemed our family isn’t interested in having grand libraries like your typical rich folks usually are.

Nevertheless, I quickly managed to pick up on the words and grammar of this world. To my surprise, they weren’t that far off from the English language back at my world.

Thank God I actually learned English (even though I only did so because I wanted to understand the English side of the Internet).

Thanks to that, I now knew the general layout of this world and the various countries that existed in it.

Oh, and I also got my hand on a magic book.

A real, honest-to-goodness, magic book.

Naturally, I immediately tried the spells in it, starting from those that looked the easiest.

The book said that you were supposed to chant a certain set of words to cast a spell. However, I immediately learned that you still can do it, even without the chant!

And I learned it all through pure accident!

My reading capability was still limited, so I couldn’t quite understand the words I was supposed to chant. I tried to chant anyway, making up the words instead.

And it worked! I formed a small ball of wind from the palm of my hand!

I couldn’t believe it! So I decided to experiment. I changed the words around again.

And yet, it still worked! The same phenomenon and sensation still happened! I still feel this warmth travelling to my palm and bam, I got a ball of circling wind!

Only for it to disappear immediately the moment I rejoiced.

Hmm, concentration, I suppose. I need to maintain it in order for the spell to stay.

I then tried casting it without any chanting whatsoever. Just raw and pure concentration as I imagined the same sensation and the same ball of wind appearing on my palm.

And it worked! It actually worked!

I read the book further, but it didn’t say anything about casting spells without chanting.

Then, could it be that I’m special in the matter?

Could it be that I’m actually a magic genius?

Ehe… ehehehehehehe!

And so with that bigheadedness and arrogance, I started gleefully trying out magic as much as I can.

Only to pass out after the sixth spell, even wetting myself in the process.

I forgot. You did need mana to cast magic after all.

If you pushed yourself too much, this would be the result.

----

When I woke up, I was already back in my room, laying down on my bed.

My clothes were clean and dry, which meant Mother must have changed them.

“Oh, you’re finally awake.”

I looked to the side, and there, I saw my older sister staring at me.

Her name was Marina, and she was around 5 years older than me, making her six right now. She had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, and she had green eyes, just like Mother.

Even so, she wasn’t like other kids her age. She always acted, for a lack of a better term, mature.

It was hard not to see her as my older sister, even though technically, if we counted my previous life, I was far older than her.

“You… you’ve been sneaking into Papa’s study, haven’t you? Learning magic on your own?”

There it was. She gave me that look again. The look that made me immediately feel guilty.

She would make an excellent mother. Wouldn’t have to yell to scold her kids. Even the father would be scolded by her with ease, I imagined.

“That’s not good, you know. You need a teacher to teach you magic. Magic is dangerous to try on your own.”

“How about I become your teacher?”

And so, from that day on, I learned magic under her.

----

To my surprise, she was actually somewhat of a good teacher.

No, not somewhat, she was actually, genuinely, 100% good at it.

She could already cast all the basic level magic with ease. And not just that, she even demonstrated several intermediate-level ones to me! And she was just six years old!

I learned that she was actually considered a magic prodigy by my parents later on. They even already gave her her own wand. And it was a fancy, regal looking wand at that. Not anything like the magical girl wands you would expect girls her age to hold.

I could tell how proud she was of that wand. She always took care of it, carrying it in her dress’ pocket anywhere she went.

I actually tried to get a hold of it one day, but before I could, she already snatched it back.

I got a lecture from her afterwards, about how I shouldn’t be taking people’s magic wands because it could be dangerous. “Your magic power is enchanted significantly with a wand in your hand. You’re going to hurt yourself if you cast anything while holding it!” She told me in her usual naggy, bossy tone.

Really, she was the perfect picture of the overly serious and responsible older sister character.

----

Marina

When I first heard the news from Mother that she was pregnant, I was ecstatic.

Finally, I was going to get a sibling!

But then, I realized that they could be a boy! And I hated boys!

They kept teasing me, pulling my hair and even lifting my dress! And they laughed at the bear panties I was wearing!

"Mom, I don't want a baby brother! I want only a baby sister!" I told her.

"Oh dearie…" She just smiled at me. "I don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl. But I do know that you would have to be a good big sister to them, alright?"

"I don't wanna do it if it's a boy though… Boys are icky and gross!"

"Ah, I see the boys in the village is giving you a hard time again." As usual, Mother just saw right through me. "That's the more reason why you should take care of your baby brother well. Raise him up to be a gentleman, then you'll have an adorable little brother you can always play with."

I didn't believe her at first. Those nine months felt terribly long, as I anxiously waited for the baby to be born.

When the delivery day happened, I waited nervously outside the bedroom, pacing back and forth as I bit my thumb.

Father was the first to enter once the healer told him to. After several minutes, the healer told me to enter as well.

"It's a male, Marina. Congratulations. You now have your own little brother." Father patted me on the back.

My smile disappeared into a frown.

It really is a boy after all…

But then, the moment I saw him—

My heart melted on the spot.

"Aaw, he's so cute! Can I hold him, Mother?"

“Of course, dear. Just be careful, alright?”

That day, I swore to be the best big sister that I could be.

I would raise him right! He wouldn’t be like those village hooligans!

----

Four years had passed since I started learning magic with Marina. I was now five years old, making her ten.

I had grown a lot since then, both in height and in my ability with magic.

I had reached the level Marina showed me when we first started. I could now cast all basic level magic with ease and some intermediate level ones.

She, on the other hand, had surpassed herself even more. She had mastered all intermediate level magic and she was now dabbling in advanced level ones.

Our father and mother both agreed to send her to a magic school, so that her talent could be cultivated further.

She would go next year, at eleven. It was a boarding school, located far away than the boonies we were in right now.

I would only be able to see her once a year, in the summer holidays.

I knew I should be happy for her, but I still couldn’t help but feel a twinge of loneliness in my chest.

In these four years, I had become quite attached to her, it seemed.

“Sis, why don’t we skip the magic lessons today? Let’s go to the village!” I suggested to her.

She raised her eyebrows. “Hmm? That’s unusual. Usually you are so diligent. And suddenly you want to skip your studies?”

“I-I just thought we could use a break, that’s all.” I lied.

The truth was, I suddenly felt I wanted more time with her. Time that wasn’t just spent on her teaching me magic.

I wanted to make memories with her.

Naturally, I couldn’t just say to her face. I was nothing like my old kid self, who was always forward with everything.

Now, shyness was a significant part of me. What if she mocked me if I told her the truth? She certainly could tease me for being a crybaby!

I didn’t want that. I wanted her to think of me as dependable. Or even cool, if a five year old could ever be that.

“Well, I suppose we can do that,” she replied with a smile. “We’ll have to ask Father first though.”

----

A/N:

Here’s how Marina looks when she’s older.

 

Chapter 2: Separation

We ended up finding Father first, as he was swinging his sword around in the courtyard as usual.

He was the perfect picture of a warrior. He had so many rippling muscles and abs on his body that I would be surprised if he still had any fat on it.

He was an ex-adventurer, just like my mother. In fact, they were in the same party before they retired.

I knew this straight from Mother herself. She loved telling tales of their adventures to me and Marina, especially as bedtime stories.

I could just imagine it. Him, a warrior, and my mother, who was apparently a cleric, getting along as they braved dangers together. Until eventually, they fell for each other.

No doubt he's the one to initiate. I heard you two having fun upstairs, you know. You're lucky I have an adult mind or else I might actually get traumatized from it!

They would have their fun almost every single night. And most of the time, I would hear him teasing her, saying stuff like "What, that's it? I can still keep going, you know~" and she would reply with stuff like "Ahnnnn, dearie, you really are such a perv, you know~" before letting out more lurid and lewd moans.

I now wondered why I wasn't born earlier. Maybe Mother had some birth control medicine made by some alchemists? I doubted condoms already existed in this world.

At first, I was absolutely annoyed by them. Jealousy welled up inside of me; me who had been a virgin his whole life; me who had never even dated a girl before.

Damn riajuu, get another room, would you? Or do it outside, I don't care! I can hear all your moaning and growing from down here!

I swear I will not be this annoying when I have my own wife! Whenever that would be!

Grumpily, I could only try to block the sounds as I went to sleep.

Sis is lucky. Her room is further away so she shouldn't be hearing this.

But eventually, I had to admit it.

That this… was far better than the dead bedroom my old parents had.

I could practically feel the love between them, every time I saw them together. Father would always steal glances towards Mother, with Mother doing the same afterwards. The soft looks they had when they looked at each other, and the laugh and smiles they often shared--

It was truly heartwarming.

And, as their son, that warmth was shared to me as well.

Those two really are a match in heaven…

...Dammit, I’m so jealous of them! I want a lovey-dovey husband and wife relationship like them too! Alan, you lucky bastard!

Alan was, of course, Father's name. Alan Greenwood, to be exact.

Mother's name, on the other hand, was Renee. Renee Greenwood. Just like in the previous world, wives tend to take the surname of their husbands when they got married.

And that made my sister Marina Greenwood and myself Hugo Greenwood.

Not bad. Greenwood was a respectable surname to have. Could be cooler though, like Pendragon. Now that's a cool surname.

I asked Mother once what Father’s job was, now that he had retired.

"Well, your father is a knight, my dear. He protects this region from any bad guys that threaten it."

"Like bandits and monsters?"

"Yes, exactly! You're a smart one, aren't you, Hugo?"

She smiled and patted my head.

This region was known as as the Sheffield Region. Located in the outskirts of the Marchen Kingdom, it was practically the booniest you could ever imagine a place to be (that still had civilization, at the very least). It only had farming as a viable career option if you wanted to stay. Else, you had to go to the capital.

Being a village guard wasn’t really considered a career. The lord in charge of the region didn’t bother forming official militias consisting of the locals. He only paid salaries to his knights, which Alan was one.

I would accuse him of being a miser, like your typical noble lords in fantasy stories, but I really didn’t know his finances. The geography book that told me all this also said that this region was quite rich though, as it provided for the rest of the kingdom, so who knew?

"Dad, can I and Marina go play in the village?" I took the initiative.

"Hmm?" He immediately paused his exercise as he noticed our presence. "The village? Now that's rare. You two are always cooped up here, training your magic like the prodigies you are."

"Hugo says he's bored of my lessons," Marina chimed in with a huff.

"Really? Then why don't you have some swordplay lessons from your Dad instead?" He gave a hopeful grin.

I always knew that Father wanted me to be a swordsman like him. When he first discovered that I had a talent for magic, just like my sister, he shouted, "Gods, it's not fair! Why must he be a mage as well?!" to Mother.

She just giggled in return. She seemed to be pleased that both of her children were magically inclined, just like her.

He had dreamed of having a son or a daughter (Many powerful warriors he met were of the female persuasion so he wasn't picky) to be his successor. Unfortunately for him, both me and my sister were just not interested.

Well, in the case of Marina, she was simply not good at it. She tried for a while before deciding to give up entirely, focusing on magic instead, which she simply found much more fun to train and play with.

As for me, well, I had never even tried.

“Sorry, Dad, I’m not interested in becoming a musclehead like you.”

Ouch, I could see that my words struck him pretty hard.

“B-but girls like men with muscles!” He quickly retorted. “That’s how I won over your mother!”

Now that I thought about it, Mother never talked about how she had fallen for him in her adventuring tales.

Well, I imagined it would be really awkward to tell that to your son and daughter. I could totally understand why she wouldn’t. Hell, I probably wouldn’t either when I had my own children, unless they really, really asked for it.

Well, he was indeed good looking. And the ladies certainly loved some muscles and abs in their men.

Too much muscles for my taste though. I preferred a lean and slender build myself, but still with the firmness that girls liked.

“Hugo, it’s not nice to tease Father like that, you know.” Marina suddenly nudged me with her elbow.

Well, she’s a sharp one. She already knew how clever I could be at times, even though I was just a five year old kid.

“Alright, alright, you two can go.” Father finally surrendered. “Just be careful alright. Follow the road. And be back before the sun sets.”

“Don’t worry, Father. I’ll take care of Hugo. You can trust me on that,” Marina quickly replied, grabbing my right hand with her left.

He looked at her for a moment, then back to me, and then back to her again.

“Uh, I was going to ask Hugo to take care of you instead actually." He scratched the back of his head.

"What? I'm his big sister! I'm the one that should protect him!" Marina flared.

Wow, Sis, you actually managed to make him flinch.

Now I wondered if Mother could do ten times that when she got angry.

"I know… I know… but boys… they like protecting girls, you know… Hugo here must be happy to be the one protecting his sister for once. Right, Hugo?" He patted me on the shoulder while giving me a nervous smile.

Dad, please don't drag me into this.

But he was right. For once, I hoped I could be the cool brother that my sister could look up to.

Could I admit that with a straight face though?

"F-Father is right. I… I would really like to protect you, Sis…"

I mumbled all that while averting my gaze, a blush creeping into my face.

Pathetic, wasn't it?

Marina, however, reacted in a way that I did not expect.

She blushed and averted her gaze as well.

C-cute!

"W-well, I certainly don't mind… j-just for a day, alright?" She relented.

Just for a day, huh?

Then let's show her the coolest little brother that I could be!

With a confident smile, I firmly took her hand.

First step, I needed to stop being so shy.

----

The village was not far from our house. Just fifteen minutes of walk actually. We only needed to traverse downhill on the dirt road between the farms to get to the village proper.

On the way, we were always greeted kindly by the farmers whom we passed by. It seemed my father was beloved and well-liked by them, making us beloved and well-liked as well.

Ah, nepotism. Still existing even in a fantasy world.

Naturally, I tried to greet them back one by one. But I was quickly overwhelmed by the amount of people doing it, so much so that my right hand was starting to hurt from all the waving I was doing.

I could tell that Marina was feeling the same however. But ever the honor student, and probably because she wanted to be a good role model to her little brother, she couldn't stop.

Poor Sis. I knew exactly how you felt.

Perhaps we were more similar than I originally thought.

"Hey, Marina!"

Once at the village entrance, a plus-sized boy suddenly ran towards our direction with a big grin on his face.

He wasn’t fat by any means. He was just that—big. He was taller, and wider, than Marina, and he was like a giant to me.

“Brandon.”

Just from the way Marina said it, and the sudden frown on her face, I could tell that she did not like this person in the slightest.

“Hey, what’s with the frown? You’re cuter if you’re smiling, you know!”

D-did he… did he just try to hit on my sister?

“Brandon, I’m not in the mood to deal with you right now,” she replied, her tone still filled with hostility.. “As you can see, I bring my little brother today. And we’re going to play together. Just the two of us.”

“Aw, come on, can’t I join too? Pretty please?”

And from his tone, I knew he wasn’t really taking any of this seriously.

Just from these few seconds in his presence, I already hated him as much as my big sister.

“Hugo, let’s just ignore him, shall we?”

Marina grabbed my hand and pretty much dragged me away from this Brandon guy.

Only for him to just take my sister’s other hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“That’s cold. Real cold. As the daughter of our guardian knight, shouldn’t you be more… you know, accommodating to the common folk? Like me!”

...Yep, he was just like them.

Those jocks that had tormented me in junior high. They too would flirt with girls nonchalantly.

And if they didn’t get the attention they wanted from them, they would often turn to force, like what he was doing right now.

“...You’re hurting me. Please release my hand at once.”

“Then agree to play with me first! Just leave this little chump on his own!” He looked towards me. “The village’s safe! He won’t come to any harm!”

“Release my hand, Brandon.”

“You know, your wrist is really soft. Guess it’s true what they say with noblefolks like you.”

And then, I saw him tightening his grip on Marina’s wrist, earning a pained whimper from her.

I snapped.

Without a chant, I conjured a ball of wind and fired it right towards his abdomen.

“Gwaaahhh!”

He was sent flying a few meters away from the force of the impact, releasing her grip on my sister’s arm.

He landed right on the muddied section of the dirt road face first. It was raining quite heavily last night after all.

“Hugo!”

Her stern voice immediately brought me back to reality.

I had attacked him. I had just attacked a defenseless kid with my magic.

I immediately expected a lecture from her, about how I shouldn’t be doing that and how she could solve the matter without violence.

“Thank you.”

Instead, what I got was a word of gratitude.

------

Marina

I did not expect what just happened.

Hugo, on his own, just attacked Brandon with his wind spell.

The expression on his face… it was that of pure anger.

I couldn't help but be slightly terrified by it.

I was going to lecture him on how we shouldn't have done that as it would certainly cause more trouble in the future, but I stopped myself.

He… was doing this to protect me.

That anger he showed, it was genuine. All of it from Brandon grabbing my wrist.

If I lectured him now, I would be doing his bravery a terrible disservice.

"You really love your sister that much, Hugo? I can take a mere wrist grab just fine, you know." I couldn't help but tease him.

"W-well, I promised to protect you after all."

Aaw, he's blushing! How cute!

I couldn't resist! I had to hug him!

"Here." I wrapped my arms around his head, gently burying his face on my chest. "Your reward."

I could sense him struggling to free himself! He's really one shy boy, wasn't he?

"You know, you were really cool back there." I said as I released him, though I still had my hands on his shoulders. "If I hadn't been your big sis, I might have actually fallen in love with you on the spot."

I noticed him smiling when I called him cool, only to turn crimson once more when I teased him again.

"Hee hee, you really need to stop blushing so much, you know." I rubbed his head. "Girls like strong and confident boys, not shy ones."

"R-really, Sis?" He replied.

And now he suddenly looked like a sad forlorn puppy.

"W-well, some shyness is perfectly fine as well! Girls can like shy boys! They trigger their maternal instincts, you know!" I quickly corrected myself.

He sighed. "I knew I could never be cool…"

Oh Hugo…

You really are obsessed with being cool, huh?

I wonder where you got that from. Father?

"Oh, don't be silly, Hugo. You are a perfectly cool little boy! Cool and shy aren't necessarily opposites, you know!"

And just like that, his smile returned once again.

We spent the rest of the day frolicking around the village, buying food from the local grocery, watching the blacksmith do his work, and playing with the other kids that lived in the village.

To my relief, that big guy didn't bother us again. Maybe he was licking his wounds. No doubt he felt absolutely humiliated by his defeat, especially since it was done by me, a mere five year old.

How old was he anyways? Around Marina’s age? Maybe a little bit older? Maybe around 12 or so.

Well, whatever. I didn’t want to see his ugly mug ever again, especially near my sister.

Before we knew it, the sun was already going down.

It was time to go home.

“Wait, Hugo.”

As we walked back however, Marina suddenly stopped me in my tracks.

“I have something to talk about.”

Her face was all serious, but there was a melancholic smile adorning it as well.

Oh no, I think… I think I might know what she’s going to talk about.

She took me off the road, to one of the grassy plains. Then, she sat down, motioning me to sit down as well beside her.

In front of us was the setting sun, beautiful in all its crimson glory.

“You take me here today because I’m going to leave soon, aren’t you?” she said with a smirk.

Bingo. She read me like a book.

“Y-yeah…” I admitted, averting my face away from her, finding it reddening yet again.

“I see… Then, are you satisfied?”

“Eh?” I turned my head to face her.

“Are you already satisfied, with what we did today?” She asked me again, all with a gentle smile on her face.

I paused. I looked away from her once again, choosing to stare at my boots instead.

“I-I do… I think...” I answered. “Y-you got to see my cool side after all!” I blurted out, giving her a fake smile.

If I were to be honest, I wasn’t.

I wasn’t satisfied at all.

I still wanted to be with her for longer.

I knew it’s pathetic, for an old man in a child’s body to be feeling that way.

But, after being so close to her for these four years, feeling her warmth every single day, that was what I felt.

Of course, I couldn’t tell her that. It would only pain her more.

I knew her. This separation must hurt for her as well.

And besides….

It would be uncool for me to do so.

I wanted to be a strong little brother that she could leave behind without worry.

Unlike my old, weak self.

However, before I knew it...

I was already in her embrace yet again.

“You’re lying, aren’t you, Hugo?” She whispered as she rubbed my back. “You can’t hide anything from your big sister, you know.”

I exploded into an awful, terribly uncool sobbing mess.

----

The very next week, it was time for Marina to leave.

Father would be going with her while me and Mother stayed in our house.

I spoke my goodbyes to her without a single tear.

It seemed I had given all my tears away that dusk, under the setting sun.

We promised to exchange letters, of course. But it could not really replace the closeness we always had.

I just had to bear it. I just had to bear it until next year, where she would come home on her holidays.

And when she did, she would find me more grown-up than she could possibly imagine.

 

Chapter 3: Demon Child

"Dad, I want to learn swordfighting after all. Can you teach me please?"

I made the request next month, after Father returned from accompanying Marina to her school. The next day, to be exact, as he was doing his usual training in the courtyard.

I had been thinking about it a lot. And I decided.

I wanted to be able to swing around a sword after all.

He immediately dropped his sword and came over to me, looking like he just won the lottery.

“Whoa whoa whoa, did I hear that right, Hugo? Did you just say that you want to learn swordfighting?” he replied, a big, silly grin on his face.

“Yes, Dad.” I sighed. I really didn’t like that grin. It made me feel like I was walking into something I would regret. “So would you please teach me?”

“Of course I will! Don’t you worry about a single thing!” He laughed, patting me on the shoulder harder than I would like. “I’ll make you the best swordsman in the land! I promise you that!”

I seriously doubted that.

“But if I might ask, what’s with the sudden interest? I mean, all this time, it seems you always prefer magic over swordfighting.” He scratched the back of his head.

“I… just wanted to do it, that’s all…”

I couldn’t admit that I was doing it just so I could become cooler in the eyes of Marina.

Nuh uh. Too embarrassing.

When she comes back, it would be nice to have some muscles on my body, even if it’s just a little…

"Ah, you want to impress your sister, don't you?" His grin got bigger.

...Goddamnit, was I that easy to read?

"Y-yeah…" I sheepishly admitted.

I could already feel my face warming up.

"Don't worry, my boy." He put his big hand on my shoulder again. "Once next summer comes, I'll make sure that you'll have some muscles in that skinny body of yours!"

And so my days of sword training began.

----

And I immediately regretted it.

Haah… haaah… haah… haah… W-what is this?

This isn't sword training! This is physical fitness training!

He told me to run around the courtyard five laps before doing push-ups and sit-ups, twenty each! To a five year old boy!

"Don't give up, Hugo! You need to build some muscle first before you could even go anywhere near a sword!" He shouted so passionately towards me, who was laying down on the dirt, out of breath.

T-this must count as child abuse!

"D-dad! I just want to learn how to use a sword! I don't want to be a musclehead like you!"

"Silence!" He shouted back. "You're not my son if you can't handle this much!"

I knew he didn't really mean it. He was just pretending, acting it up for dramatic purpose.

But didn't he think he was going a little bit too hard at it? That he was enjoying it a little bit too much?

I could see Mother sitting on the veranda, shaking her head and sighing. However, she didn't say anything. She didn't tell Father to stop or to be easier on me.

Instead, she looked straight at me with a firm look.

I knew that look. She was telling me that it was up to me to give up or not.

She might look gentle, but she wasn't one to spoil her kids, it seemed.

In the end, I persevered. Not because I wanted those muscles that badly (though they certainly would be nice), but just because I had made an oath to myself ever since I was reincarnated into this world.

I would not waste my life a second time.

Unlike my old self, I wouldn’t give up immediately. Just because it’s hard or just because I didn’t like it would never be a valid reason for me to abandon my efforts on something.

I loved learning magic but I hated physical exercise like this. And yet, I still had to do the latter, even if I didn’t enjoy it, or that I had no talent for it.

My goal was to learn at least basic-level swordsmanship. So that I could defend myself a little without using magic.

That, and to show it off to Marina once she returned home next year. No doubt she would already be even better at magic than before.

And speaking of magic, with Marina leaving, I seemed to have hit a plateau on my magic learning. Now that I was trying out Advanced-level spells, the explanation written by the books was getting too hard for me to understand properly.

Without her to explain them to me nice and easy, I couldn’t progress in my studies.

Mother couldn’t help, as she only knew how to do healing spells. And I seemed to have zero talent in that department.

It was a normal thing, Marina once explained. No mages were able to cast every spell in existence. Most of them would only specialize in a handful of branches and/or subjects.

Even so, Marina could cast every type of spell that she found in the books.

She must really be a genius at magic.

To not lose to her, I thought I should pick up some swordsmanship on the side. It would be ideal if I could be something like a mageknight; a warrior that could unite both swordsmanship and magic in one harmonious combination, resulting in a strength that surpassed the two on their own.

Well, it was just my aspiration. I didn’t know if I could really reach that level or not.

But I certainly would try.

Not trying would just lead me back to the hole of despair I used to be in.

-----

It continued like so for a month, until I could do all of the routine Father demanded.

Every day after an exhausting practice, Mother would heal my aches and bruises with her magic.

It was really convenient. I didn’t have to sleep with muscle pain as a result.

It also meant that I could really push myself to the limit.

Maybe that’s why Father was being so stern with me in our practice. He knew he could get away with it because Mother was around.

"Alright, Hugo." He threw a wooden sword on the ground in front of me. "Pick that up. It's time we start the real lesson."

----

As I expected, Father's style of swordsmanship was basically just attack, attack, and attack until the opponent dropped dead.

He was a musclehead after all. He wouldn't bother with complicated maneuvers and all that fancy stuff. He would just slash his opponents over and over with his big sword.

At least, that was the impression I was getting from his confused explanations.

Urgh, I miss Marina's teachings even more now…

He seemed to be the guy that learned how to fight out of pure instinct. He couldn't really teach his skill to others.

Well, even so, I managed to learn the basics nonetheless. How to hold your sword, where to place your feet, how you should attack and defend, and so on. So I was still getting something out of it.

Not to mention all the cool displays he was giving, like cutting rocks and felling trees with one single slice of his sword.

This was a fantasy world after all, so superpowered swordplay should be normal.

Without that, guns would just make swords and other melee weapons completely obsolete in both normal combat and warfare.

...Wait, did this world even have guns already? I couldn’t remember any kinds of firearms being described in my books.

Another month went by, when suddenly Father announced something that took me by surprise.

“Sorry Hugo, but I think you should stop learning swordsmanship from me if I were to be perfectly honest.” He sighed deeply, a look of resignation written all over his face.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Father? Am I just that bad at it?” I tilted my head in confusion.

He didn’t seem to be the kind of guy who would just give up that easily. After all the “Never give up!” speeches he gave me in these last two months, now he’s suddenly giving up? That’s quite hypocritical, was it not, Father?

“No, not at all.” He sighed. “It’s just that… you don’t really have the talent to use my style of swordsmanship.”

My expression immediately turned sour.

I knew it. I had no talent after all.

“A-ah, don’t get me wrong!” he quickly corrected himself. “From the way you move yourself, you’re more of the agility type than the strength type. Many rapid small blows over slow, large ones. And I… can’t really teach that.” He scratched the back of his head.

I looked up with a thoughtful look on my face. Of course there would be different swordfighting styles in this world. I imagined that an agility-type swordfighter would use something lighter than Father’s greatsword, like a katana or a rapier. Maybe even a shortsword.

He took another sigh. “If this was the capital, I could easily enroll you to an agility-type dojo. But out here, there really wasn’t anything I could do about it.”

Huh, so there are dojos in this world.

“It’s okay, Father.” I smiled at him. “For now, I can learn your style. I’ll just learn the other style later, when I’m older.”

“When you’re older?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah. I’m going to become an adventurer after all.” I answered readily with a grin.

Right. I was not planning to stay here forever.

Once I was older, and Marina finished her school, I wanted to form a party with her and travel the world.

If she wanted to, of course.

For a moment, Father seemed to be stunned by my answer. But then, he quickly smiled and gave me a good pat on the head.

“Following on your Father’s footsteps, eh? Good! Good! If I were to be honest, I wouldn’t want my son to be a boring merchant, or God help, a mere farmer.”

Dad, that’s kinda cruel to the farmers, don’t you think? Without them, we can’t eat after all.

Well, I wouldn’t want to waste my second life being a farmer either.

Such was the order of this world, it seemed. Farmers were pretty much in the bottom rung of society, along with other crude peasant occupations. Merchants were usually in the middle-class while nobility was on the upper crust.

As for adventurers, well, it depended on who you asked, really. From the books I had read, there were those that extolled the virtue of adventuring while there were other books that pretty much thought of them as mere brutes and outlaws, little more than bandits. The former was usually adventuring books, while the latter was pro-nobility “heroic chivalry” books with nobles as their protagonists.

Hmm, now that I think about it, with that many fictional books around, this world must already have the printing press.

I couldn't believe I just connected the dots now. You could just see from the smooth, non-handwritten texts on said books.

So it was not that medieval after all.

“Yeah, I don’t want to stay here forever, Dad,” I replied back. “Sorry to disappoint you.” I gave a little cheeky grin.

“Haha, I always knew my son would have his father’s adventuring blood in him!” He now had moved on to slapping me on the back. “Now you just need to ask your sister! You want to go on adventures with her, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

I looked away. I couldn’t believe that I started blushing, just from a simple question like that!

“Alright then! We’ll continue the training!” He declared. “It might be good to learn a Strength-style, even if you’re not going to use it as your main style. You can surprise your opponent by suddenly switching to a different style mid-combo! And you can better learn the weaknesses of a strength-style swordsman, if you’re ever up against one!”

And so our training continued, at least for now.

----

I didn’t spend all my time just training with Father however. He knew the importance of kids having time to play and fool around, so he would always set aside time for me to do whatever I wanted, including going to the village and playing with the kids there.

I really didn’t know if I wanted to do the latter, after having quite the bad experience with my last trip there, when Marina was still around, but I certainly could use the change of pace. Being all cooped up inside didn’t feel healthy for me.

And so I would walk around the village, looking at the fields of wheat and potatoes that the farmers were no doubt growing earnestly. I would be greeted by them, and even offered to stay a while and have some food with them, if it were lunch time. They were truly honest people, I thought, and it was heartwarming to see them being so friendly to me. I just hoped that they weren’t doing it just because I was the son of the knight that was protecting them.

As for the village, that bully immediately turned pale the moment he saw me, before evading me entirely. I couldn’t help but smirk in response. It certainly felt good being feared by the bully like this, after what happened to me in my old life! And imagine, being scared of a boy 5 years younger than you! A mere 5 years old!

In a fantasy world like this, where things weren’t as “civilized” as my old world, perhaps overwhelming force would be the best solution to a lot of your problems.

There was another incident however that humiliated him even more.

I was visiting the village that day, on one of my day offs, where I found him and what I assumed to be his underlings hounding over a girl.

She had a long, black hair that was parted in the middle. She was thin, thinner than what I would expect to be healthy for a girl of her age, which seemed to be around the same as mine, maybe a little bit older. She was also short, shorter than me by one or two inches, and had a larger than average forehead. Judging by her look, which suggested some level of malnutrition, and her dull and simplistic black dress, she was definitely not from a well-off family.

To my surprise however, instead of being all scared like I had expected her to be, what with the three boys being bigger than her, she instead was glaring at them like an angry tiger.

A starving, really angry tiger.

"You little brat! Do you even know who you're talking to, huh? I'm the village chief's son, you know! You outsider should give me some respect!"

Outsider? So she's new here? That explained why I never saw her around.

"You will never be deserving of respect! You are nothing but a cruel bully who oppresses others!" She pointed back at him, her whole arm shaking with rage.

Wow, she really was one fiery girl. Usually you would expect her to have a bright red hair if she's this kind of a character.

Ha, and the three stooges actually flinched from that!

"You little!"

The bully--I couldn't really be bothered to remember his name--moved forward in an attempt to grab her long hair, no doubt to give it a good long pull.

Only for her to grab him on the shirt, before punching him straight on the gut.

"Guwaaahhh!"

With just that one punch, the bully knelt over, holding his stomach as if he was experiencing excruciating pain.

Holy fucking shit what was that?

"D-demon! S-she's a demon!"

"S-she can't be human!"

The two underlings, seeing what she just did, immediately ran away. The bully immediately followed, tears trailing down his fat cheeks.

And then, she grinned triumphantly, folding her arms under her completely flat chest.

W-who is this kid? How did she just beat up a boy nearly twice her size like it was nothing? She had no muscles in her body, and she had barely any meat either!

C-could it be? That she really is not a human? I don't see anything fantastical at her! No horns, no long ears, nothing!

"Hm? Hey, what are you looking at?" She glared at me once she noticed my presence.

Eeek, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!

“N-nothing! J-just passing by, that’s all!” I nervously replied.

She eyed me suspiciously.

“T-that was impressive, by the way! What you did there!” I continued with a somewhat forced smile. “How did you do that? Knocking him out in one blow like that! You didn’t seem like you’d be capable of doing something like that, judging by how you look.”

I was just about to call her scrawny. Bad idea.

Her expression suddenly softened to my surprise, and— Wait, was that a look of sadness on her face?

“I-I don’t really know,” She answered, her hands shaking as she curled them into fists. “I was born this way, you see…”

And then, she ran away.

With how fast she was, even if I wanted to catch her, I wouldn’t be able to.

It was the very first time I met her.

And it would not be the last.

----

I was now six years old.

I still continued my sword training with Father. And I had to say, I seemed to be getting better at it. I was now sparring with him as my training. Although I obviously could never win, I actually was starting to dodge and parry his blows.

Well, I wasn't in any delusion that he was going all-out with me. No doubt he would be able to beat me in a split second if he was truly serious.

I met the strange girl a couple more times on my visits to the village. I now knew her name. Sherry. Not her last name though. And she was working as a helper in one of the village farms, milking cows, cleaning weeds, and even splitting firewood. She seemed to be worked hard by the owner of the farm, an old, bitter grandma who was too weak to work her plot of land by herself.

And, from the teasing she got from the other kids, she seemed to be an orphan. The old lady had brought her from the nearest city to work on her farm.

No doubt as cheap labour of course. God, she's still as skinny as ever. I can't help but be worried about her.

Maybe I should ask Father if there's something we can do about her.

My thoughts about her were soon put in the backburner however.

Marina was coming home after all.

----

A/N:

Sherry’s look is based on the child Jane Eyre from the Jane Eyre manga, with minor alterations.



Really cute and well-drawn manga by the way. Would recommend.

 

Chapter 4: Feelings of a Big Sister

"Sis!" I ran over to her and gave her a big, warm hug. "Welcome home!"

When Marina got off her carriage, I did not hesitate. I immediately embraced her with all my strength.

Hey, I was still six years old after all, so this kind of thing was totally okay.

And besides, I really, genuinely missed her so very much.

"I see you've gotten taller, Hugo!" She put her hands on my shoulders, beaming brightly.

Ah, how I missed her smile.

"Ehehe, of course I have, Sis! I ate and slept well and oh, I also had taken up training with Father on swordsmanship!" I couldn't help but brag.

"Hee hee, no wonder you also look a little more manly than the last time we met. Look! You got a little bit of muscle here!" She grabbed my right bicep.

"Aw, stop it, Sis!" I smiled proudly. "You too have grown up, you know! You're also taller and you also look more womanly as well!"

"Oh?" Her smile suddenly turned to a smirk. "And what do you exactly mean by that?"

"I mean, your boobs are big--"

I slammed my hands to my mouth, quickly stopping myself.

Oh crap, why in the world would you say that, you dumb idiot?

But it was true. Just from one year of schooling, she already looked far more mature than she was before. I couldn’t really quite put a finger on what caused the change. She was indeed taller. And her boobs really got bigger.

To a guy like me, I couldn’t not notice that.

But then, to my surprise, instead of being angry at my perverted comments, she began to uncontrollably giggle, covering her mouth with her hand in the process.

And that giggle quickly turned into a full blown laugh.

"O-oh Hugo, you really haven't changed, have you?" She wiped off her tears. "Come here you!" She embraced me this time, burying my face in her bosom in the process.

I-I’m happy, Sis, but I’m also kinda suffocating as well!

----

Marina had gone home on her own to Father’s chagrin, who originally intended that he should go fetch her. However, she insisted, saying that there was no need for him to waste our family’s money just to do that. She could return home just fine by herself.

Since she was just an eleven year old girl, I couldn’t help but be impressed by her guts. The school was really far away from our home after all.

In fact, it was in a different country altogether.

The Magic Academy of Mira. It was located, where else, in Mira, or, to be more exact, the Magocracy of Mira. Instead of being ruled by a king like our kingdom, it was instead ruled by a council of wizards and witches.

Even so, they still ended up being quite similar to our nobility system, as the ruling class was just the same families of mages that (apparently) traced their lineage back straight to the legendary mage who accompanied the legendary Hero in his quest to defeat the Demon King far back in the past.

Yeah, her name was Mira. The country was christened after her.

It took around two weeks on a carriage ride from here to there. In modern terms, it might seem slow, but in a medieval world like this, where transportation was vastly more limited, it was already very fast.

We were lucky that we were on the borders of the Marchen Kingdom that were linked straight to the Magocracy. If we had been situated on the capital, or God forbid, on the border on the other side, it would take her much, much longer to go to the Academy. Two months wouldn’t be out of the question.

After crossing the border, she would still need to go to the capital city first, Merlin, where the Academy was located.

Merlin, by the way, was the name of Mira’s very first apprentice, or so the books told. Funny how he shared a name with a legendary wizard in my world.

The road there and back was smooth and well-kept, relatively secure from any bandits or monsters that might threaten a traveler. Another reason why Father was okay with her returning on her own.

He still did not like the idea of her sitting beside complete strangers for two weeks however, which was completely a reasonable assumption. However, in this world, you were already considered an adult at fifteen, so it was less outrageous than letting a 11-year old girl in my world going on a travelling trip on her own for two straight weeks.

“Sis, how was the trip?” I asked her with a smile once she released me from her hug.

“It was fine,” she answered nonchalantly. “Quite boring actually. Got nothing to do than read books and sleep on the carriage.”

“And how was the Academy? Did you make friends here?”

And immediately a shadow fell on her face.

Suddenly, the previous bright smile she just had moments ago turned uncharastically grim and sullen

“...A-a handful,” she answered, looking away from my eyes.

D-did something… happen?

I immediately sensed that something was wrong.

I didn’t want to press her about it right away however, so I decided to stay quiet, shelving my questions for the time being.

She just got back after all.

----

Marina

...I missed this.

I missed this all.

The grass tickling my ankles, the fresh scent of morning dew and sunshine, and the greenery that you could see all over.

I missed Mother’s smile and Father’s laughter.

And, most of all, I missed Hugo’s warm embrace.

...Oh Hugo. My sweet, little Hugo…

I am so sorry. For not being able to be honest with you…

----

When I first arrived at the Academy, I was full of optimism and hope. I thought naively, "Wow, I can't wait to learn so much more magic!" I knew how expensive this school must be, but Father sent me here anyway, as he did not want me to squander my talent in magic.

So I intended to be the best student that I could. I would answer every question the teachers have me and I would demonstrate all the advanced level magic that I could use. No doubt that would impress them.

That… was a mistake.

I quickly was seen as a young genius. Ten years old, yet already capable of casting advanced level magic, something only seniors could do.

And that quickly attracted attention from the "rulers" of the school.

When I said "ruler", I didn't mean the headmaster.

I was referring to a special group of privileged students, who could do anything they wanted in school. Skip classes, leave the premises to go to town, and even to cause trouble, as long as it's deemed "in a reasonable range".

And that included bullying and harassing other students.

The school rule stated that to be part of said group, you would have to show a significant and extraordinary talent in magic.

I clearly belonged in that category, yet I wasn't chosen.

I thought my talent was lacking at first, that there were other students with more talent in magic than I was.

However, I soon knew the true reason.

I was an outsider, a foreigner. I was not one of them.

And all the members of that special group; they were all descendants of famous magic families in the country.

And, once they learned that my talent surpassed the talent they possessed, they immediately turned hostile against me.

----

It all started one week after class started.

It was our first big practical magic class. We were asked to demonstrate all the magic we were capable of casting. It was a way for the teachers to determine our magic aptitude, what we were good at and what we were not, and at what level our magic was currently at.

Most mages only had a couple of magic schools they were good at, and knowing which one was crucial, so that the teachers wouldn’t waste their time teaching magic their students weren’t good at.

I, however, could cast every single one of them.

From all the elemental spells, to healing and holy spells, even miscellaneous non-elemental ones like illusion spells and transformation spells. I transformed into a dryad that day.

The only spell I could not use were summoning spells, as you needed to make a pact with the relating spirit first, something I hadn't done.

I cast them all that day, earning the awe of everyone present, including the teachers.

Not only that, but I demonstrated my mastery over advanced-level spells. Magma Burst, Rainfall, Frost Hail, Sand Grave, and many others.

I was so happy, so proud that I was earning the applause of the crowd, that I did not realize that I had poked the hornet’s nest.

For by doing so, I was demonstrating just how much better I was in magic than some of those “special” students.

One of them was especially offended by my display.

Her name was Merinda Salamander, a senior five years older than me. She had long red hair that went down to her waist. She always wore a black witch robe, complete with the large wide hat. Her sharp green eyes seemingly always looked down on others, while none of her smiles was ever genuine, always mocking.

She was beautiful, but she possessed a wicked heart, which, I had to say, was quite the shame.

She belonged in the Salamander family, one of the handful magic families that held a seat in the Council. And it showed, both in her attitude and her aptitude for magic, as at a mere age of 15, she already reached the rank of Master, meaning she could cast a Master-level magic, a feat that made her equal to the teachers, even though she hadn’t even graduated yet.

Oh, she certainly could do a “fast track” graduation if she so chose, but she seemingly was content with doing the full six years of education for a normal mage.

That day, she immediately declared myself as her enemy, even though I could not cast any Master-level spell like her. She was still superior to me, yet for some odd reason, she seemed to be threatened by me. She didn’t even do a demonstration that day, as it was only for first year students only. She was simply watching from the sidelines, like the other non-first year students.

I simply could not understand her.

It didn't take long until she came to me, along with a bunch of her underlings.

"Hey, you, new kid," she said to me with a grin. "Come over here for a sec, will ya?”

I saw from the corner of my eyes the other students quickly darting away the moment they saw her and her groupie.

I immediately knew trouble was coming.

I could’ve run, but I knew it wouldn’t solve anything. They would just continue to hound me.

And besides, I had my pride to consider.

“Yes?” I returned with a neutral look, hiding my distaste of the situation.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

An annoying person, I almost replied.

“I do not,” I answered succinctly. “I just arrived here after all.”

Before I knew it, my look had turned defiant.

And she didn’t like that. Not in the slightest.

“...Come with me then.”

It was not a request.

It was an order.

----

They led me to a secluded section in the academy. There were many of those around, seeing how big the place was.

Then, the leader, Merinda, gave me a good shove to the wall, before holding me in place by placing my body between her two hands.

“So, you think you’re so smart, don’t you? So good with magic that you don't even need to know who's in charge around here?"

"You're not in charge. The teachers are."

"Oh really?" Her smirk widened. "Don't you know about us, the special class?"

"...I do not."

At this time, I indeed had not known of the matter. The teachers had not said anything about it.

"Then, it's time for you to learn. Hold her, girls."

Before I could do anything, they grabbed both my arms, pinning me to the wall completely.

“Y-you… what are you—”

I tried to struggle. But being a ten year old girl, I couldn’t do much against the two girls who were at least five year older than me.

M-my wand… I-if only I can grab my wand in my pocket...

“Shhh… this will be over soon, I promise. Just a little cut…”

And then, she began carving a wound into my face using the end of her wand.

“Aaaaaahhhh!”

I screamed. The pain was nothing like any pain I’ve ever experienced before. She was heating the tip of her wand with her magic, so in effect, a blazing hot rod was being placed onto my face.

When she finished, there was now a burn line on my right cheek, going from my lips all the way under my ear.

“Welcome to the Academy.” She said with a satisfied look. “I’m Merinda Salamander. You might want to ask around who I am before the next time we met.”

And then, she left. Just like that.

Perhaps, in her mind, she’d already shown who’s boss around here.

I did not go to the infirmary for said wound, by the way, even though I could perfectly do so. Injuries during training were said to be somewhat common after all, so there would always be healers ready to take care of students’ wounds.

No, my pride wouldn’t allow me to.

I wanted to show her that such a lowly, cowardly act did nothing to me.

Instead, I healed it myself.

Using my Intermediate-level healing magic, it took me a few days until the burn line completely disappeared.

In retrospect, if I had just shown weakness and swallowed my pride, perhaps her bullying would cease as her ego would be satisfied by me kowtowing to her.

...But, that’s not what I chose.

I could not choose that path.

Mother always said that we Greenwoods were always known for our hardheadedness. Father left his home at a young age just because of a disagreement with his old man. To this day, both still hadn’t reconciled, thanks to that hardheadedness of theirs.

Even Mother had some of that, which might have what attracted Father to her in the first place. She too left her home due to a disagreement with her mother.

Quite funny, if you thought about it. They really were a match made in heaven in that way.

And said hardheadedness was inherited to me, and so I had to obey it. It couldn’t be helped.

I had to keep our family tradition alive after all.

----

The bullying only continued after that.

She, realizing that I was not repentant in the slightest, continued to threaten and even humiliate me in public.

She, or one of her underlings, would do things like lift up my dress in public, exposing my panties to the world. Or splashing a water spell at me, making me soaking wet, making me late for the next class as I had to change back in my dorm room (while humiliating me as well since my dress would also turn translucent because of it). Or even outright stripping or destroying me out of my clothes while I was in front of the class doing a presentation.

Now that I thought about it, a lot of her bullying involved making me have wardrobe malfunctions in public. I suppose she thought it would be the ultimate humiliation for a girl like me.

No, what annoyed me the most was not that (even though it was indeed very humiliating).

It was how half, no, two-thirds of the academy seemed to fawn over her.

To them, she was basically their idol that could do no wrong. The girls admired how "elegant" she looked, while the boys, well, they were all entranced by her beauty and her larger-than-average boobs, that she gleefully showed off by her low neckline.

Perverts. All of them. Both her and those boys.

I'm so glad that my Hugo isn't like that. He's a gentleman, through and through.

A couple of times my dress was blown upwards in the wind as we played, and every single time he would avert his gaze.

Honestly, if he's the one taking a look, I wouldn't mind that much…

Once again, I started to think about my little brother with a smile and a blush.

Oh Hugo, I missed you already…

Without you around, it feels… lonely…

That was the conclusion that came to me.

I was lonely.

No one really got close to me, knowing that I was the target of Merinda. They didn't want to earn her wrath as well.

There were even those who thought that I deserved all the harassment I was receiving for "daring to defy Lady Merinda", whatever that meant.

In the end, throughout the entirety of my first year, I couldn't make a single friend.

Of course, I didn’t divulge any of that in my letters back home. For all they knew, I had a perfectly happy and normal school life over here.

Why? I didn’t even know it myself.

I tried to justify it in my mind, saying things like “I don’t want to burden Father even more than he already is”, or “I don’t want to worry Hugo.”

However, I knew that it wasn’t the real reason. Not in the slightest.

Perhaps I simply refused to admit any of my own weaknesses, denying to show any of them to the world.

Oh Hugo, please forgive your sister for her faults...

-----

“Sis! What kind of spells did you learn there? Tell me all about it!”

We were now sitting in the dining room, having roast chicken for our dinner, along with some bacon strips, eggs, and vegetable soup.

It was a more lavish meal than usual. I suppose it was to celebrate my return.

I sat across Hugo, who was still all smiling and happy ever since I returned.

I couldn't help but smile in return.

"Let's save the magic talk for later, you two," Mother said with her own smile as she placed our plates. "Marina, how long are you going to stay? The entire summer?"

"Yes, Mother," I took a sip of the vegetable soup.

Warm and delicious. The food I got served with at the cafeteria couldn't even compare.

I mostly remained silent at the table, only answering questions shortly and promptly.

Even as I was surrounded by my family's warmth, I couldn't relax fully, like how I used to a year ago.

Because I knew I was lying to them.

----

I left the table first, excusing myself by saying how I was still tired from my trip.

Hugo gave me a concerned look, which only hurt me even more.

I went to my room immediately. After changing into my nightgown, I buried myself in my pillow, hoping that I would fall asleep immediately.

After two hours of stirring and shifting however, no luck.

I could not sleep after all.

Hugo…

My mind suddenly returned back to my little brother.

And then, a strange desire came into me.

I wanted to sleep with him.

W-we never did something like that before after all.

I-it’s only fair to do it at least once. Before we both get even older, making it even more awkward.

I-it’s something brothers and sisters do. I-it’s completely normal.

With red cheeks, I stood up.

And I began to walk towards his room, tiptoeing so that Father and Mother wouldn’t notice.

I now stood in front of his door.

I was about to knock, but I realized that he must already be asleep already at this hour.

And so I pushed it open on my own.

The room was pitch black as expected, and he was sleeping peacefully on the bed in the corner of the room.

I closed the door behind me. Even locking it. Just in case.

Still with crimson on my face, that was thankfully obscured by the dark, I walked over to his bed.

“H-Hugo… c-can I… c-can I sleep with you? J-just for tonight, I-I promise...”

----

A/N:

I don’t really have a picture for Merinda unfortunately.

 

Chapter 5: A Heart-to-Heart Talk Between Siblings

After dinner, I immediately returned back to my room to catch a good night sleep. I was still a six year old boy after all, so I still needed to sleep a lot, especially if I was going to grow tall like I certainly wanted.

Yeah, being a short guy looked to be quite the depressing existence to me. The only way it could work if I also retained a baby face with it, so I would become like one of those shota characters in female dating sims.

I think I preferred being a normal ikemen though.

When I threw myself onto the bed however, my mind couldn't help but wander back to Marina.

Something was definitely bothering her! I just knew it!

But she wouldn't tell! Not even to me, her cute little brother!

Haah, I knew exactly her type. The honor student, "perfect daughter" type that would hide her problems from her parents and siblings.

I remembered a girl like that at high school. She was getting awfully bullied by other girls who were jealous of her, to the point that her face actually got slashed by a boxcutter or something. Only when that happened that her parents took notice of the unjust harassment and suffering that their daughter had received for so long.

...Don't tell me that she's also getting bullied there?

With such thoughts swimming inside my mind, I drifted off to sleep.

…

Only to wake up what felt like half an hour afterwards, with Marina standing beside my bed.

Wait, Marina?

“H-Hugo… c-can I… c-can I sleep with you? J-just for tonight, I-I promise...” I heard her mumble.

Even without looking, I could tell by her awfully shy tone that she was blushing furiously right now.

W-wait, did she just say that she wanted to sleep with me?

"S-sis?" I sat up, a confused look on my face.

"N-nevermind…"

She turned around, no doubt intending to run back to her room in embarrassment.

I stopped her in her tracks however, grabbing her wrist before she could escape.

"Sure, Sis. You can sleep here if you want." I answered with a smile.

I knew that if I let her go, I would've regretted it for sure.

In the past, I was selfish, only caring about myself. I didn't bond with my siblings as I should. I ignored them, even as they tried to save me.

I would not make the same mistake this time.

"O-oh Hugo!"

Before I knew it, she already threw herself on top of me, hugging me as tightly as she could.

Oi, she was lucky that there was a soft bed behind me, or I could've been seriously hurt!

"Sorry Hugo, but tonight, I want to hug you just like this," she said with a smile.

Hmmmph! Hmppphh!

She was suffocating me! She pressed my head right into her chest with her hand!

"Ah, sorry, you can't really breathe if I hug you that way, can you?” She giggled.

With her relaxing her grip, I could finally take a breather.

And I was immediately greeted by the sight of cleavage.

It was still small, naturally, but it was definitely there, unhidden by her loose, low neckline white nightgown. I could also see that she wasn't wearing any bra underneath.

"Oh Hugo, I missed you so." She sighed as she started playing with my hair. "One year of not being able to play with my cute little brother, it's really lonely, you know."

"I missed you too, Sis," I returned with a smile, hugging her back. This warmth she's giving… I certainly could use more of it.

"What's the matter, Sis?" I asked her. "You're not usually this forward."

"Oh, is it so wrong for a big sister to want to be close with her little brother that she hadn’t seen for a year?” She pouted.

“N-no, not at all!” I replied. “It’s just that—you feel different than your usual self.”

Suddenly, her smile vanished and she averted her gaze. But then, she quickly recovered, and retaliated by going on the offense.

“Oh? Maybe because I’ve grown up a little since we last met? You’ve been staring at my chest all this time, you know.” She smirked.

“O-of course I’m going to stare! Y-you now have boobs, Sis, and you don’t even wear any bra to cover them!” I protested with a blush.

I knew I should be bad for being a pervert who peeked at his own sister, but given how she reacted, with amusement, and not with embarrassment and distress, I couldn’t help but feel I was the victim here.

“Hehe, I see little Hugo is growing up as well.” She smiled. Wait, was that a sultry smile I just saw? “You’re starting to have an interest in girls, huh? Even though you’re just six. Don’t tell me you’ve gotten your first wet dream already!”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, SIs…” I decided to feign ignorance. Putting up my best upset face, I replied, “I hadn’t wet my bed since I was three, you know!”

“Haah, nevermind. You’re still as innocent as ever.”

Without warning, she started to hug me strongly once again.

“...Let’s just stay like this for a while, please?”

At that moment, I sensed it.

The sadness in her voice.

I had to know it. I had to know what bothered her so much.

“Hey, Hugo… what would you do if… if you have someone who doesn’t like you very much?”

That’s… an out of the blue question. I still tried to answer as best as I could however.

"I think… I think I'll try asking them what they so disliked about me first.”

“I see… But what if—what if they hated you for a nonsensical and petty reason? That you really couldn’t do anything about?”

Now her question just got weirder. What did that even mean?

And then, my dense self finally connected the dots.

She was talking about herself! She got someone that hated her guts in the Academy and she wanted to know how to get along with them!

But what did she mean by a “nonsensical and petty” reason though?

If we were talking about fantasy stories, then fantastical racism certainly could be a possibility. But she was human, and so should be her classmates. If I read my book correctly, the nation where her academy was located was human dominated, same as ours. So what could this reason be about?

“W-well, then I would think of them as a petty person that I wouldn’t bother being friends with,” I replied.

Damn it, I didn’t even know if that was the right answer! It sounded kinda condescending and selfish, but it’s genuinely how I would act in the situation.

Hearing that answer however seemed to make her smile.

“Of course! Why should you make a friend with someone like that?” She let out a short laugh. “There are so many other people you could be friends with after all!”

W-whoa, she suddenly gave me a hug once more! And this time around, she’s wrapping her arms around my stomach instead, with her face buried on my shoulder.

“Thank you, Hugo,” she whispered into my ears. D-damn it, why was this actually turning me on? Maybe because I always had a dream of being whispered upon by a girl like this! Come on, Hugo, she’s your sister! Your sister! And she’s still 11!

“Hehe, you’re blushing, aren’t you? I knew it, you are already at that age after all~”

W-was this how those shota hentai leads felt when they were being assaulted by their onee-sans?

“Do you like it, hmm? Being whispered from the back like this?” She continued her assault.

D-damn it, I wouldn't be able to hold back if this continued!

"Oh, Hugo, you're so adorable, you know that?" She hugged me even tighter. "I know you'll be able to get a cute girl to be your girlfriend in no time at all. And then you'll be able to do things like this all the time with her."

I was relieved to hear that. For a moment there, I thought she had gone full brocon and wouldn't allow me to have any lovey dovey relationship with girls other than her!

"Don't forget about me when you do though."

"O-of course not, Sis!"

Nevermind. She was still a pretty heavy brocon.

“Oh, right, Father said that you have been going around the village frequently, haven’t you? So why don’t you find yourself a girlfriend or two there, hmm?” She decided to tease me again.

For some reason, my mind immediately went to Sherry.

"W-well, there's this one girl that--"

"Wait, what?! You actually have someone you like?!"

She immediately lifted me up and flipped me around so I would face her.

"Tell me everything about her. Now." She shook me on my shoulders.

H-hey, your expression was getting kinda scary there, Sis!

I told her everything. About how we first met, about her attitude and temper, and even about her unnatural strength.

When I was finished, Marina was in her usual, ponderous look—the one she would be in when she was thinking hard about something, usually something related to spells as we were studying.

“You say she just appeared one day in the village. And that she was an orphan. And Old Woman Farla was employing her hard in her farmland.”

Old Woman Farla was the name of Sherry’s employer. I believed she also stayed and slept in her house when she wasn’t working day and night for her. Some also called her Old Maid Farla, since she never got married, but I believed that would be a bit too rude, wouldn't it? I mean, you could call me an old bachelor in my old life, and you would be right. Even her grumpy, hostile attitude was understandable. Anyone would be that bitter if they grew that old and never experienced love.

Hah, quite funny how a six year old could emphatize so much with a--what, 60, 70-year old grandma?

"She must have gotten her from the city's orphanage then. Most likely for free. Those places were always underfunded and they would always be happy to send their children to work so they wouldn't have to feed them anymore."

"Wow, Sis, you really know a lot of things, don't you? I thought you're just a magic nerd," I couldn't help but tease her a little with a grin on my face.

I really was impressed though. For real.

"Whaaat? I'm not a magic nerd! How dare you say that to your sister, huh? Huh!" She pouted, before assaulting me by tickling my midsection, sending me into a laughing fit.

"Hahahaha! S-stop, Sis! S-stop!" I begged, all teary-eyed.

Damnit, she really knew my weak spot!

She laughed as well before she finally relented. Clearly, she enjoyed tickling me, just as much as I enjoyed teasing her.

"Anyway, she doesn't have any slave collar on her, does she?"

"Slave collar?" I paused.

Oh right, I forgot slavery was still a thing in this world. She could very well be a child slave.

"I-I don't think so. No collars or anything else on her neck."

"Then, she's from an orphanage." She declared as if it was a proven fact. "That also explains her bad temper. They didn’t raise the kids there right most of the time.”

“Sis, how do you know all this stuff anyways?” I couldn’t help but ask. Since when an 11-year old could know so much about orphanages? I found that seriously hard to believe.

“Oh, Mother told me all about it,” she answered quite nonchalantly. “Haven’t she told you that she used to work in an orphanage before she took up adventuring?”

“Wait, really? That’s news to me!” I actually never knew about this!

"Hehe, just like you have your secret talks with Father, I too have my secret talks with Mother." She gave her "I-win-this-round!" smile.

Suddenly, silence.

It seemed we had both run out of things to talk about.

"Well, it's decided then." She smiled wistfully. "Tomorrow, we'll go meet this girlfriend of yours."

"I-I told you, she's not my girlfriend! I don't even know if we're friends yet!"

"Oh, what's the difference? I know that in no time at all, you'll be really good friends with her." She smiled scandalously. Wow, she's really confident of my ability to pick up girls, didn't she? I wondered why. I was absolutely horrible at it in my old life after all.

"Never expected you to like feisty and tempered girls though. Just be careful not to be too pushed around by her alright?"

And with that, our conversation was finally over. It didn’t take long afterwards for me to fall asleep, as she gave me a gentle headpat all the way until I arrived at dreamland.

I couldn’t remember what my dream was that night. Only that it was something pleasant and nice. Not anything perverted though, to my surprise, even though I basically slept with my face buried in her budding chest.

I wouldn’t complain about that. Having lewd dreams about my sister—that would disturb me for sure.

----

When I woke up, Marina was no longer there. Damn, there went my dream scenario of waking up in the morning with a beautiful girl by my side. Even though that girl was my own 11-year old sister. She must have woken up earlier and returned to her room. She wouldn’t want Father and Mother to know that we had been sleeping together, I imagined.

Sure enough, I found her later having breakfast with Father and Mother in the dining room.

“Hey, Hugo, you’re late!” She greeted me with a smile. I suppose we’re just going to pretend last night never happened then.

After having our breakfast, she immediately declared that she wanted to go to the village. “Hugo, you want to come along?”

She didn’t need to say anything. I already knew just from her face that she wanted me to come, as she wanted to visit Sherry.

“Yeah, of course, SIs!” I quickly replied.

Our parents of course gave us their permission. They even gave us a bag of coins to be used if we wanted to buy something in the village.

And with that, we departed.

----

The farmland Sherry was working at—Old Woman Farla’s farm—was located on the other side of the village, so we had to walk decently far in order to get there. I wasn’t bothered at all with the fact though. In fact, I couldn’t help but be excited to do the trip. So much so that I challenged Marina to a race. Not all the way, of course. Just a race down the hill from where our house was perched on.

“Haa… haa… haa… wow, you’re fast, Hugo!” She praised me once I won, panting as she was completely out of breath.

“Yay! I’m faster than Big Sis!” I declared with a triumphant smile, though I too was gasping for air. Quite ironic that my current six year old self could run further than my old adult self. That’s what being healthy (and not overweight) got you. Not to mention all the physical training I had gone through with the old man.

“I see that the training you’ve been doing with Dad has its effect! You’re now definitely stronger than me in physical activities, Hugo!” She praised me again. Yes, Sis, praise me! Praise me more!

"Hehe, it wasn't easy, you know. Father can be a harsh teacher at ti—whoa!"

Her white dress! It had turned completely translucent! No doubt from her sweat!

I could see her black panties clearly!

I froze, giving it a good stare for two or three seconds before I finally could avert my gaze.

“S-Sis, y-your dress…”

“Mmm? Oh!” With a blush, she quickly covered herself with her hands. Damn, that was a really cute reaction!

“Oh dear, wait a sec.”

She chanted something under her breath. And then, she moved her right palm all over her body, turning the fabric of her dress dry using what I could only assume to be a drying spell.

It might look easy, but I knew for a fact that it wasn’t. That spell… was not in any of the magic books we had read throughout the years. It was her own original invention. That, or something she learned exclusively from the Academy.

When she was done, her dress had returned completely back to normal.

“So, did you see?”

“H-huh?”

“See them? My panties?”

She was now putting her hands on her waist, staring at me disturbingly similar to how Mother would stare before she gave me a good scolding.

“U-uh, I… uh…”

I looked away, feeling as if I was shrinking under her burning glare.

I was going to lie, telling her that I didn’t see anything.

But then, I did see them, didn’t I? For a good few seconds at that. Should I lie? Would she know?

...No, I would not. That’s what my old self would do. Lying just to save his own ass.

“Y-yeah, I did… Sorry about that, Sis…” I looked her straight in the eyes as I said so. Not doing so would just make myself even look more dishonest than I already was.

And then, her glare suddenly turned into a giggle.

"Oh Hugo, such a gentleman! Even when you're still little!" She came over to me and ruffled my hair. "As your big sister, I'm glad I had raised you well."

And then, she bent her knees and whispered, "You know, if it's you, Hugo, I don't mind you peeking at my panties all you want~♥"

With a naughty, knowing smile, she then ran off, giggling yet again.

T-too much! Sis, you're being too much!

She couldn’t just keep teasing me like this or else I would end up with a sister complex as well! And an older sister one at that! I had always preferred little sisters more, you know!

 

Chapter 6: Woes of The Demon Child

When we arrived at Old Woman Farla’s farm, we were immediately greeted by the sight of Sherry working hard on the fields. It seemed she was busy watering the crops, as she was carrying a large steel watering pail with her. And by large, I meant “half her height” kind of large. And yet, she could carry it with no problems whatsoever, though she had to carry it on top of her head thanks to her not being tall enough to carry it normally.

“Hey, Sherry!” I shouted to her, waving my arms.

She looked up towards me, and a flash of a smile came to her face. It quickly disappeared when she noticed Marina however.

"What do you want? And who is she?" She glared towards her.

"Hello." She returned with a smile. "I'm Marina. Hugo's sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah. Sorry for not telling you beforehand."

She seemed to not appreciate me forgetting to tell her about Marina, judging from her frown. But then again, she's always frowning, so who could tell?

"Thank you for playing with my little brother." Marina gave a little now. "He doesn't have many friends, you see, so I'm glad he can have a playmate of his age."

"I-I'm not his friend though…" She averted her gaze, blushing a little. What's this? Did I just witness a genuine, honest-to-goodness tsundere moment? Now that I thought about it, she fit every stereotypical tsundere characteristics out there! Bad temper, super strength, no hesitation to punch people she didn't like--the only difference was her long black hair, which usually belonged to a prim and proper Yamato Nadeshiko type instead.

"Hmm?" Marina's smile turned into a smirk. "Hugo always talks about you though."

"H-he did? What did he say?"

"That you are really cute and he wants badly to become your best friend."

H-hey, Sis, I never said that! Don't make up things just because you wanted to matchmake me with her!

Her face reddened once again, and of course, I was the one who earned her glare.

“T-then he should say it himself! Not hide behind his big sister like this! I-I don’t like cowardly little boys, you know!”

See, Sis! Now I ended up looking bad in front of her! Hey, don’t just laugh!

"Alright, alright." She finally stopped, wiping a tear off her eye.

And then, all of a sudden, her expression turned all serious.

"Hey, Sherry." She looked at her straight in the eyes, bending her knees. "Do you like working here?"

"H-huh?"

"Here? In that old hag's farm?" Holy hell, did she just straight up call her an old hag?

Sherry didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked down, almost as if she was too scared to answer.

"I… I do not…"

Her answer was uncharacteristically weak for such a strong-willed girl.

"Then, I have a better offer for you. What do you think about living together with Hugo?"

Wait, what?

"We can adopt you, you know. Take you in, and raise you like you're Hugo's sibling."

Sis, what? You hadn't even talked about it with Father and Mother yet! You couldn't just give her empty promises!

"R-really?" O-oh God, her eyes! They're like a puppy's eyes when you tempted them with a biscuit they loved very much!

"Really! Here, why don’t we talk to her now right away?”

With a smile on her face, she took her hand while gesturing towards me to follow her.

Oh Sis, sometimes, I couldn’t figure out what you were thinking in the slightest.

----

Old Woman Farla's house was on top of the hill overlooking her farm. It was smaller than ours, yet it still was a nice house, certainly a reflection of her upper middle class status.

Big Sis didn't hesitate. She walked straight to the front door and knocked on it. Loudly, I might add.

"What in damnation? Who is that?" I heard an old woman's voice coming from behind the door.

The wooden door opened, revealing the most stereotypical looking witch-like old woman that I had ever met. Really, if she just wore a witch's robe and hat instead of a normal dress, she would be perfect for the role.

“You? Who are—Sherry, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be working right now?”

“Hello.” Big Sis gave her the most polite smile she could muster. Yet, at the same time, said smile didn’t reach her eyes. Whoa, scary. “I’m Marina Greenwood, and I’m here in Father’s behalf. We are interested in taking in Sherry here, and we wish to ask for your permission first.”

“Marina… Greenwood? You mean, you’re the daughter of those Greenwoods? Hmph, I see. Just as uncivilized as your parents.”

What the—what’s up with the snide remark? Hey, we were the guardians of this region, you know. Or at least, my Father was.

“Of course, Mrs. Farla,” my sister replied. “We are certainly less civilized than you, who are a descendant of King Marchen The First. Even if that lineage is really, really distant from the current King.” The way she said it was full of venom. I could tell straight away that she was offended by her remark about our family, and that she was striking back by mocking her bloodline.

Eh? I never knew Old Woman Farla was of nobility! Was this another thing our parents told her but not me?

“Better than being a child of adventurers to be sure.” She wrinkled her long, crooked nose. “A bunch of ruffians, those lot. To think that Lord Eriol would employ them to be his knights--Hmph, unbelievable."

If I remembered correctly, Lord Eriol was Father's boss. He was the Baron of the region. Actual nobility, unlike our father.

"If your father truly wants that wild, ungrateful child—" Uh, I could see Sherry’s temper rising at this. "—then he must come here himself. I have no interest in talking to his brat. Good day." She then slammed the door in front of her.

Marina sighed. "Well, that's that. Let's go back home, sha—"

CRACK

"Wild and ungrateful?! How dare she?! I have worked so hard for her! Day and night! And yet she never gave me a single gratitude! She's the ungrateful one!"

CRACK

CRACK

CRACK

Holy hell! D-did that just happen? In her anger, Sherry just destroyed the stone pathway she was standing on! Just by stomping on it! Every time she did, pieces of rock flew off to all directions—luckily not hitting either of us—and we could even feel the tremor!

"C-calm down, Sherry, calm down!" I grabbed both of her hands from behind.

Only to end up with my world turned upside down as she threw me over her head as if she was some kind of a pro wrestler. I would’ve landed on the hard stone, if not for Marina running straight at me and catching me mid-air.

When she regained her senses, she looked at us with a horrified expression on her face, before looking down at her own, shaking hands as if she was looking at a smoking gun that she just fired and killed a person with.

And then, she ran away. With her speed, there was no way for any of us to catch up to her.

Marina sighed, patting me on the shoulder once she let me down.

“You got a hard road ahead of you, Hugo, if you really want to be friends with her.”

----

Sherry

Ooh, I couldn't believe it! I was so stupid! How could I have done that? And to him, too?

He had been kind to me, all this time! He was the only kid who wasn't scared of me in the slightest! He would go out of his way every time to visit me each time he went to the village!

And now I screwed it up! Terribly! Ooh, he must hate me now! And his sister would never allow me to go near him ever again!

Before I knew it, I was already far away from the farms. My feet had taken me to the edge of the Merti Forest.

I was all too familiar with this place. It was the only place where I could vent off my frustrations in what I considered to be somewhat of a constructive, even positive way.

----

I was born in an orphanage in Dearth, the only decently large town in this Sheffield Region. They said they found me on the front door one morning, crying my eyes out.

I was an abandoned child.

Of course, there were many like me out there--babies dumped by their parents for all sorts of reasons, from poverty to simple unwanted pregnancy. I never knew which category I belonged, not that it mattered. I didn't receive love from my parents either way.

I never got along with the other kids, nor with the nuns working there, as the orphanage was affiliated with the church. I quickly terrified the former, and the latter thought I was a demonspawn for having such an unnatural strength.

As such, I was always alone ever since the day I was born.

Hmph, who needs friends or family? I am fine by my own!

At first, I believed those words wholeheartedly. I believed I could go through life by my own hands and feet, without needing to rely on anybody or anyone except for myself.

But then, I realized--that I was merely lying to myself. I wanted friends. I wanted to have a family.

My pride, however, never allowed myself to admit it. I insisted on my isolation, too scared on ever truly reaching out to others. They are going to hate me anyways, was what I always told myself.

One day, I was summoned to the head nun's room. "Congratulations Sherry! Madame Tennyson has decided to adopt you!" She said with a dishonest smile. I knew for a fact that she never liked me, and wanted me gone as soon as possible.

Well, I couldn't blame her. I was a troublemaker after all.

That was where I first met her. And at that time, even though I was bothered by how grumpy and straight up hostile she was looking, I swore to myself that I would behave and act like a good child for her.

As you might expect, my resolve did not remain untouched for long, as the moment we climbed up the carriage that would take us to her home, she declared, “You will work as my servant. You will tilt my farm and clean my house. If you act good, then perhaps I shall consider sending you to school afterwards.”

Not as her granddaughter? I immediately felt anger bubbling in my stomach. I was betrayed!

But then, I remembered what the nuns always said. Always be grateful, Sherry. Count your blessings the same way our Saint counts her children. So I kept it inside me. I still endeavoured to be my best in front of her. I did all my work without complain, even though I found it terribly dull and boring. But then…

“You lazy, idiot child. What kind of cleaning have you been doing if there is still a speck of dust around? Hmph, my old maid could do a much better job than you and she’s already 50!”

“You imbecile! That's not how you plant the seeds! stYou have to spread them out evenly! And you didn’t even dig up the holes right! They have to be perfectly round!”

“What is this?! You call this tea? I can’t believe this, you can’t even brew a proper tea, you miserable little whelp!” She then threw the entire pot at me, making me scream in pain for the water there was still boiling.

It was like that day after day, with me continuously being scolded for the littlest mistakes that I made. And she would not hesitate to hit me either—slap me on my hand or even on my face, with such force that I was thrown to the floor. And she would also lecture me constantly, especially when we were having our meals together, saying how I should be more grateful to her for “lifting me up from such a wretched place”, referring to my orphanage.

I finally realized the truth.

I was not adopted to become her daughter.

I was adopted to become her slave.

----

“Get lost!”

Another wolf whimpered as I drove my fist into its stomach. It was sent flying afterwards, crashing onto a nearby tree. And just like the others, it fell just after a single hit.

Around me was the whole pack of wolves, completely obliterated by the mere power of my kicks and punches.

I really am a monster…

This was my way of releasing pent-up stress—beating up monsters inside the forest. None of the villagers dared to go here, knowing how dangerous it could be for them, thus making it a perfect place for me to be alone, all on my own.

If only I was older, I would’ve become an adventurer. With my unnatural strength, it would be a very easy job. Beat up a bunch of monsters, go back, and then get the reward from the guild. Unfortunately, you had to be at least ten years old to be able to register with them. Such a silly, stupid rule, really. If you were already strong enough, why not just accept the person? It’s not like they cared if their adventurers got hurt or died doing their quests. It’s a common occurrence after all. Or at least, that’s what the nuns told me, to scare me off from becoming one.

I saw a forest boar in the distance, easily thrice the size of me. It saw me back and It immediately snorted furiously, as it readied itself for a charge towards me.

“Come here, you oversized pig! See if you really can take on the demon child!”

It did just that, and, right before it could hit me, I jumped upwards and gave it the strongest kick I could right on its head.

With a pained roar, it lost its balance, falling down to the side with a tremor.

It was still alive however.

“Take this! And this! And this!”

I kicked it in the stomach, over and over and over again. I put in all my hate, all my rage, and all my fury into it.

You stupid… stupid Sherry! How could you do that to Hugo? He’s been so nice to you! He’s your very first friend yet you treat him like that? How could you?

I didn’t care that the pig was squealing for mercy. It was better than hitting myself in the head, for being such a high-tempered idiot.

No one will like you if you can’t control your temper, you know. I remembered those words now. One of the nuns always said that to me. She was the kindest of them all.

The pig was no longer squealing. Blood poured out of its head and its soft belly that I had been kicking in. If only I knew how to cook, I could’ve had a feast with its meat. And if I brought it to the village, it would only cause panic.

Sorry, Mr. Pig. I guess you had died for nothing, just like those wolves I just massacred.

I returned back home afterwards, but not before washing myself off any dirt and blood that might have splattered onto me in the nearest river. It was getting dark, and I knew better than to frolic inside a forest in the dark.

I didn’t bother asking for dinner. I didn’t even come from the front door. I simply jumped to the balcony on the second floor and then sneaked inside from there. I knew for a fact that the room was empty, as the old lady slept downstairs. In fact, all the bedrooms in the house were empty, with the exception of her own room. And yet, I was still forced to have the attic as my room. “You are my servant. And servants don’t use the beds of their master.” She told me her reasoning when I asked.

I threw myself onto the hard bed, hoping that I could fall asleep right away.

All I had were nightmares.

----

“Father, Mother, I have something that I’d like to ask of you.”

It was right after dinner. I stood up, announcing my intention to my parents. From the side, Marina was watching me with a smirk on her face.

“You have to be the one to tell Father and Mother by the way,” she had said to me when we returned. “You’re the one who wants to save her after all.”

“W-what? But you're the one with the idea!” I quickly protested.

“Oh, don’t be such a scaredy-cat." She suddenly scolded me. “You’re a man, aren’t you? Then this is your job. Tell Father and Mother how badly you want her to be by your side.”

Judging by her smirk, I could really tell just how much she was enjoying this. Sis, I’m still six years old, you know! Six years old!

Well, I had no choice. I actually agreed with what she was saying. Ultimately, I was the one who brought up Sherry after all. I could just have ignored her plight and go along with my life as usual. In fact, that’s what my old self would do. He would say something like, “Other people’s family drama isn’t my business”. I was done being a selfish, apathetic bastard though. So I ended up bringing up Sherry’s case to Marina. And I felt that even if I didn’t bring it up with her, I would still end up telling Father or Mother in the end.

“So, there’s this girl named Sherry, and—”

“WHAT?! A GIRL?!”

“SINCE WHEN?!”

Both Father and Mother immediately jumped out of their seats the moment I mentioned a girl. Especially Mother, whose boobs bounced wildly in the process. Daaamn woman, calm your tits down. And now, they were staring at me with bewildered looks that honestly wouldn’t be out of place in a comedy sketch.

“N-no, it’s not—”

"TELL ME ALL ABOUT HER, DEARIE!" She now took my hands while awkwardly reaching over from her seat, giving me an all too nice view of her large breasts pressing onto the table. Father on the other hand was smiling all goofy and proud on the side.

I sighed. What was wrong with my family? Everyone just immediately thought a six year old like me would have a girlfriend the moment I mentioned anything about a girl.

 

Chapter 7: Alone No More

"And that's why I'd like Father and Mother to take her in."

There. I finished my explanation. At this point, both Father and Mother had called down--both sitting back on their chairs upright. They were exchanging glances with each other. Like a good couple, they could communicate just by that.

"So, let me get this straight, you want us to take in an orphan girl that you barely even know, that has unnatural super strength on top of a really bad temper, who actually has psychically assaulted you just because you surprised her, and could have probably killed you if your sister wasn't there?" Father looked at me with an exasperated look, shaking his head.

I didn't plan to tell him about the incident from before. But for some reason, Marina thought it was a good idea to blurt it out to Father and Mother when I was telling them about Sherry! That tattletale! I gave her the most glariest glare I could muster!

"Your Father is right, Hugo." Mother then spoke up with a concerned look. "We can't just take in a dangerous, wild girl like that. If she doesn't hurt you, then she would definitely be a bad influence to you. And besides, there are many other unfortunate kids like her out there. What makes her so special that she should be the one we take in?"

And there it was again. "Wild and dangerous"--the term used by the adults to describe her. I wanted to disagree yet I knew that she was right. She was indeed wild and she was indeed dangerous. With her temper, one day she could end up killing somebody by accident and I would not be surprised.

And yet, and yet I still wanted to help her.

I remembered the first time I met her. As cheesy as it might sound, I could see the loneliness in her eyes when our sight met. She’s just like the old me, I thought to myself then.

Afterwards, we met a couple more times by accident, while she and I were both running errands in the village. And every single time, she would have the same, lonely look.

And then, I decided. I wanted to know more about her.

And so my visit to her became a routine.

We never really talked much to be honest. I would just greet her with a smile, and then she would just return it with a scowl. And then the conversation more or less ended there. I tried asking her to go play with me, but she always refused, saying that she still had a job to do. But I knew, the more I visited, the more she became happier every time I did.

My old, scaredy self would’ve backed out on this matter a long time ago.

But now--now I refused to give up, just like that.

“She’s not a bad girl, Mother!” I tried to argue with her first. “Sure, she might have a terrible temper, but she never meant ill towards anyone! That accident—it was all my fault! I was the one who surprised her! Of course any girl would be flustered if a boy suddenly held her from behind like that! And she had it worse than any other normal orphan, Mother! With her unnatural strength, the villagers always called her as a demon’s child! She couldn’t make friends with anyone! Anyone except me!”

Father and Mother exchanged looks once again.

"So, are you saying you are willing to take the responsibility?" Father then said, folding his arms while staring straight at me. "You will take care of her at all times, until she grew up and became an adult that could take care of herself. Until then, you would have to be beside her by all times, with no exception. And of course, all her mistakes—if she lost her temper and broke something, or even hurt someone, you would share the blame as well. And If even once, you ever expressed any displeasure, or even boredom, of her presence, then I would kick you both out of this house.”

“Father! That’s too much!” Marina immediately jumped out of her seat.

“Silence!” Father’s booming shout was enough to immediately frighten her. “Adopting a kid is a huge task and responsibility! And if your little brother isn’t willing to put his own well-being in the line, then I would never grant his request!”

Silence fell. No one spoke. Defeated, Marina sat back down.

All eyes were on me now.

...

“I’ll do it! I’ll accept your conditions, Father!”

I looked at him straight in the eye with a determined look—both palms tightened into fists.

I had resolved to save Sherry, and I would not back out of my promise, even if that promise was only to myself.

And then, suddenly, the mood changed.

“Aha… ahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahahaha!”

Eh?

All of a sudden, Father laughed. And Mother soon followed, though hers was more of a serious case of giggling fit.

"Oh, Hugo, I am so proud of you!” With a big grin on his face, Father lifted me straight off my seat to the air. What in the—what’s going on here?!

“We’re just testing you, you know!” Mother then said between her giggling. "To see just how much you really want your little friend here! Oh, sorry about calling her 'wild and dangerous' by the way. I didn't really mean that. I'm sure that she's a good kid, just like you said."

Whaaat? H-had I just been tricked, befuddled, and quite possibly bamboozled?

"To think that my son at such a young age could already be this gallant! Here! Let me give you a big hug!"

F-Father, you're smothering me! Aaarghh! At least let Mother do it so I could get buried in her big boobs instead! Thank God he soon put me down afterwards.

"Alright, Hugo." He patted me in the shoulder. "Tomorrow, we'll go fetch your girlfriend the first thing in the morning, alright?"

"S-she's not my girlfriend, Dad! How many times I–"

"Oh, I don't know about that~ If any boy goes that far for me, I would swoon all over him for sure~"

Goddamnit, Mom! Don't make me even redder than I already am! And wipe that smirk off your face!

“Teehee, I see my little brother is all grown up now!” Now even Big Sis couldn’t help herself from giggling!

And so ended our dinner, with me feeling relieved that Father and Mother were willing to adopt Sherry after all. And annoyed as well. That teasing was too much!

But I was also surprised—surprised by the resolve I just showed. Instead of being all scared and second-guessing myself, I answered Father's challenge readily, even though if I were to fail, the consequences would be severe.

Have I really changed that much?

My old self—he would have never been able to do such a thing.

I smiled. I couldn't help but be proud of myself.

----

Renee

Oh, I am so proud of my son.

To think that he could already be so brave, dashing, and gallant in such a young age—oh, I'm so happy that I've raised him right! And he's so kind too, willing to go that far to defend a girl he doesn't even know much of.

Hehe, I wonder if he really does have a crush on her. Well, if he does, I have to make sure that she is a suitable girl for him. I can't have him marrying a girl that would just take advantage of his caring nature after all. No can do.

And of course, I would have to start teaching him how to treat a girl right. Yes. That is really important indeed. So that he wouldn't end up like him when he's older.

By him, I was of course referring to my dear husband Alan, who was now watching me change into my nightgown with that all too familiar perverted look on his face.

Hmph, really, we'd been together for how many years now and he still never got bored at looking at my near naked body as if he was still a teenager. That's why I had to keep wearing skimpy panties and bras every time. I'm already a mother, you know. Mothers shouldn't be wearing sexy undergarments like these.

"A lacy black pair today, huh? Really shows off your butt nicely, my dear." And he said that with a grin and a cheeky thumbs up too! He's always like this! No shame at all once we were inside our room away from the kids! "But I think white indeed suits you the best, dearie. You always wear white in our adventuring days, remember?"

"Of course I remember." I huffed. "You kept peeking at my panties after all." I used to wear a short skirt back in those days under my long robe. It wasn't even that short yet somehow he just kept finding angles and situations to peek at what's inside.

"You know,” At this point, I already finished wearing my nightgown, “That's exactly why I have to start teaching Hugo on how to treat a girl right. So that he wouldn’t be like you when he’s older."

“Hey, I thought Marina was on that job,” Alan protested. “And besides, that kind of stuff should be done by me, you know, his dad! This is the kind of thing that should be talked over by a man to another man! Well, he’s still a boy now but you get the point!”

“Hmph, you’re just going to teach him to woo girls instead! And Hugo doesn’t need that anyways. If he kept that level of devotion he showed us tonight to any girl he liked, there would be no doubt whatsoever in my mind that she would fall for him.” I couldn’t help but puff my chest and smile as I said so. Oh, how proud I was of my little boy.

“Hah, true enough.” My husband chuckled. “Alright, I think that’s enough of the kid for now.”

And then, he suddenly stood up and pushed me to the bed.

The rest, well, you could probably imagine on your own.

----

Sherry

“Wake up you lazy little brat!”

When I returned to the world of the living, it was because of Mrs. Tennyson shaking me so hard that I couldn’t help but open my eyes.

No, that wasn’t the truth. I was already awake when she started calling my name from downstairs.

I simply wasn’t in the mood to wake up early.

After receiving another scolding from her, and the punishment from not having any breakfast, I went downstairs and outside to wash my face. Drawing water from the well beside the house, I threw my entire head inside. I stayed like that for a few seconds, taking in on the nice feeling of cold water on my face.

My stomach rumbled. I really was hungry.

Well, what else was new? So many times I’ve gone hungry when I was still living in the orphanage. The food given to us there depended on the generosity of the people visiting the church beside it. If they gave a lot of donations, then we could eat until our bellies were full. But if not, well, we just had to learn patience, just like the Saint taught us to.

Ah, I hadn’t talked about Her yet, have I? The Saint, or Grand Saint Milicis—if we’re going by her full name—was one of the companions of the legendary Hero a thousand years ago. After defeating the Demon God that was enslaving the world then, she became the founder of the Milicis religion, spreading her teachings as the sole way of salvation for humanity. We were taught that she was the one who chose and gave the Hero his power, as a proxy of Heaven. After her death, her closest disciples became Saints of their own right. And even know, there's a Saint living in their Grand Cathedral. I believed her name was Catherine.

I was never taught in detail by the nuns about how someone could become a Saint, but I knew you needed to be capable of casting a Saint-rank Holy magic to be one. I mean, it's in the name after all. Saint-rank magic was considered the highest rank by the way. When I asked what kind of magic would that be, the nun teaching us just smiled and told us that it had to be something truly miraculous and wonderful. I myself believed it's things like reviving the dead. Now that would be a true miracle.

Personally, I was never a big believer of the Saint. Her teachings—I really couldn’t follow them properly. She told us to be patient, yet my temper remained tempestuous. She told us to be grateful, yet all I received were injustices, one after the other. The moniker of “demon”, that came from Her faith as well. After all, we were always taught that demons were these nastily strong creatures that were the eternal enemy of mankind. They even named an entire continent after them, as apparently only hordes and hordes of demons lived there. The nuns always tried to scare naughty kids—that included me—into obeying by saying stuff like “If you keep being naughty, a demon is going to come to you in the night and carry you to the Demon Continent~”. I myself was never scared by those kinds of stories. After all, if a demon popped out, I was pretty confident I could take it on with my unnatural strength.

Ha, they might be right to call me “demon child” after all.

Those were the reasons why I could never become her nun, or even her priestess, like my friend Nicole did. Nicole was always good-mannered and kind, no matter what occurred to her. No wonder the nuns liked her so much that she was sent to a Milicis religious school.

Me? Ha! I could never imagine myself becoming one! Not that they would ever send me there, with how much trouble I’d caused to them. Out of all the orphan kids, only Nicole was selected. Apparently it was the only scholarship slot that they could get. Normally, you would have to pay a decent sum of money to be accepted there. It wasn’t just a school to become nuns or priestesses—apparently it was also used as a school to train young, rich ladies to become proper ones like the Saint.

Personally, I couldn’t really see the logic behind that. I never had the impression that the Saint was a particularly “lady-like” person. After all, she fought against the Demon God. And that kind of thing reminded me of what adventurers did—defeating powerful monsters and all that. And like the nuns always taught me, adventurers were a boorish, unrefined, and wild lot.

After washing my face, I immediately started my work. Splitting up firewood would be my first task of the day.

As I brought down the big axe to the logs however, my mind couldn’t help but wander back to Nicole. I wondered what she could be doing. No doubt she’s a top student in her class. She was always a studious one after all, devouring religious books and texts like they were nothing.

If only the nuns had been willing to tell me the address of the school, I could’ve sent letters to her. Theoretically. Mrs. Farla certainly wouldn’t give the coins I would need. But they had deemed me to be a “bad influence” to her, which was why they forbid her to have any further communications with me. I already had to press them to know that she was sent to that school in the first place.

Drip drip

Oh…

My eyes are watering again.

This always happens every time I reminisce about her.

I wasn't truly alone after all.

I think… I think she might just be my very first and only friend.

"Hey, Sherry!"

I jumped.

I turned around and saw him—that nosy kid that wouldn't just leave me alone.

"H-Hugo?"

"Like I promised, we're here to pick you up!" As usual, his happy-go-lucky grin both annoyed and relieved me at the same time.

"Hey, have you been crying?"

"W-what? N-no, not at all!" I quickly wiped off my eyes with my sleeves. Dumb Hugo! Why must you come now?

He didn't come alone too! His whole family was there with him! Now they all knew that I had been crying!

Stupid, stupid Hugo! Why must you point it out?

“Why don’t you come with us, dear?” The young woman spoke. She must be his mother, making that muscled guy beside her his father. “We’re going to speak with Mrs. Tennyson right now.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Could it be? Could it be that she was really going to take me in?

I looked at her. Her smile… it was far different from the sarcastic, mocking smile that Mrs. Farla always had. It was genuine, a-and… and warm… And she's beautiful as well, with a motherly figure that made me want to hug her.

Am I—Am I really going to have her as my mother?

I could only follow her in a daze.

----

“So, you wanted her so badly that you and your husband would come here personally to request it of me? Hmph, I know you Greenwoods are audacious but this is too much!"

As expected, the old witch wouldn't give Sherry that easily. With an all-too-smug smirk, she continued.

"She's mine. I took her in as my granddaughter. If you think I'm just going to give her like that, you got another thing coming."

Of course. She's going to play hard, just so she could feel superior to Father and Mother.

I gave a glance at Sherry. She was glaring intensely at the old woman. Of course she's going to be mad if she called her her granddaughter out of the blue! She never did that before when she worked her to the bone! She knew very well that it was just one big, fat, and terrible lie!

“I see. Your granddaughter, hmm? Then may I ask why you are working her to the bone from day to night?” Scary! Mother was absolutely pissed! She was smiling but her smile didn’t reach her eyes! Not in the slightest!

“It is good for her,” the old hag quickly retorted. “The Saint teaches us to be resourceful. An idle hand is the devil’s hands. Rather than wasting time frolicking with those lazy peasant kids, I would rather her grow up to be a diligent girl.” She smirked terribly once again. “And I see you haven’t really done that to your own children, have you? That boy of yours—he would always try to lead my Sherry astray with his idleness, to abandon her work and play with him instead.”

This old hag! How could Sherry tolerate her for so long? She must have the patience of the Saint herself!

My mother, however, didn’t seem to be perturbed by her accusation. “Oh? But the Saint surely does not approve of hitting a child so hard that it left marks on her body.” W-wait, what was that? Was that a bluff? Did she just predict that the old hag would be the type to hit children that she disliked in the guise of “disciplining” her?

I didn’t know at the time but Mother had been using one of the abilities she had as a healer. She could tell where the wounds and illnesses were in a person’s body, without even having them show it to her like you would show your wounds to a doctor. It was an advanced-level healing magic spell. And yet, she could cast it without reciting it, and without me even noticing!

When I learned this, I couldn’t help but say, “Wow, Mother is amazing!”

“Sherry, unbutton your dress. You still have those marks left on your back, correct?” she asked kindly to the girl, her smile suddenly turned genuine. She could only nod, as she too was taken aback by what Mother just did.

She gave a glare towards me, pretty much saying, “Don’t you dare look or else I’m going to punch you in the face!” And so I looked away. Well, it’s not like I would be turned on by seeing whipping scars on a child’s back.

And so she did. And the scars were indeed there, still red from a whipping she experienced four days ago when she tripped and threw a bowl of boiling soup right onto the old woman’s lap.

And speaking of the old woman, she was completely speechless by now.

“W-w-what sorcery is this?!” She yelled. “A-and you can’t criticize me for it! Children need to be discplined! Spare the rod, spoil the child!”

“Enough. You are being unsightly, Mrs. Tennyson.” Mother’s voice had turned blood-chillingly cold. Even from here, I suddenly felt chills all over my body. “Take this gold and forget you have ever mistreated a child of the Saint like this.”

Without a word, she threw over a small pouch of coins, landing right on the ground in front of the old hag.

“10 gold. That should be enough. Good day.”

And with that, she grabbed Sherry’s hand back and took her away.

“She’s not one of us, you know!” The old woman shouted as we left. “She’s a demon, through and through! She’s no child of the Saint!”

None of us heeded her words.

 

Chapter 8: Our New Daily Life

Sherry

What happened for the next few hours went by like a dream.

One hour, I was an unloved orphan, worked to the bone by an old lady that never cared about me in the slightest. But the next, I was walking home with Hugo's family.

Yes, home. My new home.

"From today onwards, you will be part of our family, alright?" She told me with a warm smile when we arrived at her home. "Now let's get you cleaned up first. Dear, would you be so kind as to fill up the bath?" She told her husband.

"A-ah right…" He quickly left. Hmm, could it be that she wore the pants in their relationship? Even though he looked to be such a strong warrior…

As I waited, Marina (that was her name, right?) came over to me and gave me a hug, saying how glad that I had joined their family and how happy she was that she could be my big sister. My immediate instinct was to push her away, as I certainly was never used to such an expression of affection, especially with a complete stranger that I barely knew. I could only be comfortable with a hug from Nicole, and no one else. So comfortable in fact that I let her hug me all night as we slept together.

However, as I sank into her embrace, my anxiety of being so close to her vanished completely.

So warm… and she smells good as well…

Even though she shouldn't be that much older from her, I couldn't help but notice how she already had somewhat of a mature, motherly body, especially compared to me. Her budding breasts were pushed into my face, as if she intentionally wanted me to be smothered by her chest.

When she let me go, I was as red as a tomato, something that did not escape her notice as she gave a little giggle towards me. With a wink, she then added that if I needed any advice on how to get along well with Hugo, I just needed to ask her.

At that time, I didn’t quite understand what she was hinting at. Or else I would surely have blushed furiously from her statement.

Once the father returned, the mother took me straight to the bathroom and undressed me right on the spot. She then put me inside the bath before undressing and entering herself. The bath was small, but it was enough for two people to sit across each other with relative comfort.

But then, instead of allowing me to sit across her, she instead forced me to sit with her!

“Oh, don’t be shy! We’re family now after all!”

I could do nothing as she put me right in front of her, almost to the point of me actually sitting on her lap. I couldn’t help but blush as I felt her ample breasts pressing into the back of my head.

“So, is this your first time having a bath together like this?" She started pouring water gently on my head.

"N-no… we all used to have our baths together back at the orphanage." I explained to her that once a month, we would visit a bathhouse for our bath. We didn't have much money, so we could only afford the trip twelve times a year. Naturally, this made it a waited occasion for us all, especially when you felt all smelly and dirty for not bathing for an entire month. Well, the boys might not care but us girls certainly did.

There, we all were forced to share a pretty cramped bath. It was the cheapest bathhouse in town after all. The water wasn't even warm, let alone perfumed like the bathhouses nobles liked to use, like Nicole told me.

Speaking of Nicole, she was there as well, and she would always help me brush my hair as I took my bath. She always said how jealous she was of my long and straight hair, as hers were curly, and took a great deal of care—compared to mine, at the very least—to be kept prim and proper. She usually wore her hair in two thick braids. I thought it was very cute on her, but she always returned that my long raven hair was cuter. She even joked that once I was older, I would have so many suitors that I wouldn't know what to do with them.

I doubted that. No one would want a bad tempered demonically strong girl like me. But I knew Nicole said that to comfort me, so I was glad to receive her compliments nonetheless.

"I see." She smiled back. "Well, it certainly could be fun, taking baths together like that. Perhaps not if you're a shy person though. Like me."

"You are?" I looked up to her face in surprise. "But you are so brave, standing up to Mrs. Tennyson like that!"

"Well…" Her smile turned mischievous. "I suppose you could say I'm less shy now. Alan is probably rubbing off on me."

"Alan?"

"Your new father, silly!" She giggled, messing up my hair a little.

"S-sorry, I-I didn't know his name yet." I looked down. I felt ashamed, not knowing the name of my benefactor.

"Oh, don't feel bad!" Kyaah! She suddenly hugged me from behind. "You'll get all the time you need to know him later! And me as well! Let's be good friends, shall we?"

As her big breasts pushed down heavily on my head, I couldn't help but remember my bathing time in the orphanage again. There, the older girls would flaunt their developed bodies to the younger girls. I couldn't help but be annoyed by them, perhaps out of jealousy of my own underdeveloped figure. I knew it's ridiculous for a child like me to think about that kind of stuff, but I always wanted to grow up quickly and become an adult. Even now.

"Don't fret, Sherry." Nicole sweetly said to me. "You'll grow up as beautiful as they are. I just know it."

To me though, Nicole would be the type to turn into a big-boobed woman once she grew up. Me? I'll remain thin and bony and awkward-looking for the rest of my life.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted upwards. She turned me around, making me now face to face with her and her big chest, which I couldn’t help but take a good, long stare at.

“Hmm? You like my breasts, don’t you?”

“A-ah, n-no! I-I didn’t mean to—”

“Shh, it’s alright. You’re my daughter now, after all.”

And then, she buried me in her cleavage.

“Ummmmm1 Hmmmmmmmhhh!”

I struggled to escape, but for some reason, my superhuman strength seemed to have disappeared. I was now like an ordinary little girl, struggling to escape her mother’s escape just because she thought she was already too old for it. In retrospect, I was happy for that, or else I could have actually hurt her. I would never forgive myself if I had.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally loosened her grip, though she still was holding me up with her hand. “Warm, isn’t it? The embrace of a mother? I thought you could use one, after all you’ve been through…”

Drip drip

My tears… they were dripping out again.

"Oh dear…" She gently wiped them off my eyes with her finger. "That's no good. You are prettier if you smile, you know. Here. Have another one."

This time, I did not struggle in the slightest.

I had found what I always wanted at last.

Family.

-----

Renee

When I released her for the second time, I finally saw it. Her smile.

I smiled back, patting her on the head. As a mother, there's nothing that made me happier, seeing my children smile.

Yes, she is one of my children now. I have decided so.

Well, perhaps my daughter-in-law would be more correct, if she really is going to marry my Hugo in the future, teehee.

Hmm?

I took notice that she was once again staring at my breasts.

Ah, I remember this. Marina used to do the same, stealing glances at them when we still took our baths together. She never really wanted to interact with them though. Too shy, I believed, seeing how she would blush when she saw them out of the water. That silly girl really could be too serious for her own good.

And Hugo, oh that boy. He was all over them when he was younger. He would squeeze them and play with them so ravenously as if he was his father! And even now, I still notice him stealing glances at my chest when he thinks he can get away with it.

And if I would have another child, which I certainly hoped I would, they would surely be attracted to my breasts as well.

"Dear, do you really like my breasts that much? You're staring again you know." Forgive me, Sherry, but I just couldn't resist teasing you a little.

"I-I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean to, I-I swear!”

There she blushed again. Hmm, I guess she’s more like Marina than Hugo then.

“Here. Why don’t you have a little touch?”

I brought her hands to my two mounds, putting them firmly on the soft and bouncy fat.

Munyuuu~

Her redness immediately increased two-fold as a result.

Oh she is just so unbelievably cute! I just want to squeeze her cheeks before gobbling her up!

"Soft, aren't they?" My smirk only got wider. "You can fondle them all you want, dear. Like I've said, I am now your mother after all. And little kids can fondle their mother's breasts all they want."

"I-I'm not at that age anymore! I'm already eight years old!" She protested, not realizing that she was only making herself look even cuter!

"Ah, so that's how old you are." I answered calmly. "Well, you never have the experience of playing or drinking milk off a mother's bosom, right? I can't give you the latter, but I certainly can give you the former."

"Or perhaps you'd prefer to do it later, when we sleep together for the night? Oh, don't worry about Alan. He can manage not being with me for a night."

She paused for a short moment, before quickly agreeing with my proposition.

She's definitely embarrassed. She probably thought it would be less embarrassing if my breasts were covered.

Well, too bad. My nightgown is quite skimpy and revealing after all. She would just have to bear with a sheer silk that wouldn't hide my breasts in the slightest.

...I really am having too much fun with her, aren't I? Maybe I should step it down a little. Too much affection isn't good for the child after all.

...Oh, it's fine. Give me a few days and then I'll tone it down.

But for now, little cute Sherry is my new sweet daughter!

----

Before I knew it, Sherry already became a natural part of our family.

To my surprise, she was actually two years older than me, even though she was shorter. So I guess that made her my older sister as well? Lame. I already had one. What I wanted was a little sister instead. She’s shorter than me so I should be the big brother! That was my thought.

Speaking of older sisters, Marina started teaching me magic once again, just like old times. To my awe, yet as I predicted as well, she already improved quite significantly from her old self a year ago. First, she was now capable of using summoning spells. The academy facilitated students’ attempt at forming contracts with spirits, something you would need to cast a summoning spell. “Every type of spirit has their own ways of forming a contract with a mage,” she explained to me. “For example, for a simple fairy, you would only need to place a pot of flower near your bed for a week, sprinkled by a special potion you would prepare beforehand that would contain a piece of your hair. Then, you would have a dream where you enter their world. There, you find a fairy to persuade in becoming your spirit. Mine, she just came to me and praised how I smelled, then she told me that she wanted to join. Odd fairy, wasn’t she?” She couldn’t help but giggle a little. “Well, she’s a flower fairy, so I suppose it makes sense that she would love pleasant smells.”

She liked the way she smelled, eh? Well, she indeed smelled good every time she hugged me…

“I then contracted with a dryad. She’s part of the Fey spirits, which meant I would do the same proceedings as before, then we had a little hide and seek game in the forest there. She was surprisingly hard to find, as she would camouflage herself amongst the trees. But I managed to find her anyway, so she became my spirit as well.”

“So, you can just choose whatever spirits you want to summon?” My eyes glimmer with excitement. “Then, how about some cool stuff like giant wolves or the like?” To be honest, I didn’t think I wanted to summon fairies or dryads. Maybe the dryad, if she’s all flirty and naked like the common depiction in fantasy games and stories. But if I wanted a spirit for that, I could just choose a succubus instead. Hmm, maybe I should really summon a succubus instead!

Wait, no, that would be too dangerous. I was still a six years old boy after all. If this world follows the same lore as the succubi back in my world, then they would probably want a constant meal of my semen as payment, which I would be happy to give… if I wasn’t a six year old boy that hasn’t even reached puberty yet. If not given, they would probably suck out my soul instead or something. Brr, no thanks.

“Giant wolves?” She replied in astonishment, before laughing. “Oh Hugo, they would be way beyond your level.” But then, her expression turned stern all of a sudden. “No, really, never try it. You could die doing it. There’s a good reason why we could never find anything related to spirit binding pacts at home. It’s because it’s really dangerous. So many spirits out there are outright malicious. They will curse or even devour any mages that called upon them if they don’t find them worthy to be their master. Basically, bad things would happen if you failed a pact ceremony.” I gulped. That sounded scary indeed.

“I only made my pacts under the supervision of the teachers of the Academy.” She continued her explanation. “So don’t try anything stupid while I’m gone, alright? Not that you could anyway. We don’t have any summoning books here after all. And no, before you ask, I’m not lending you any! If you’re going to learn any summoning magic, it has to be under my supervision! Understand?”

Damn, she’s good at this. She should be a teacher in the future.

I didn’t say anything about how the way she lowered herself in front of me exposed her budding breasts though, thanks to her loose clothes. Now that was something a teacher shouldn't do. Unless you're aiming for the sexy teacher look, of course.

She then showed me the two summons she had talked about. With each having their own chants, she brought them to my presence.

"Hola, Marina!” The fairy smiled with great cheer.

“Hehe, what do you need today, Marina?” The dryad smiled brightly as well.

The fairy looked like your usual fairy. Small with insect wings, about the size of an adult fist. This fairy styled her blue hair in a long twintail. She wore a short blue dress, matching the color of her hair.

The dryad, on the other hand, really did not wear any clothes, with her long and shaggy green hair covering her wood-like body. Unlike your monster girl interpretation where she would just be like a naked teenager, her wooden body certainly gave quite the turn off. Not to mention her pitch-black eyes that had no pupils whatsoever. And her sharp fingers as well, with no fingernails. In short, she’s the teenage girl version of a treant.

"Oh, nothing special. I just called you two here to show to my little brother how a summoning spell looks like." And just from that smile, I can already tell that she's really proud of herself.

Sis, being a showoff is no good, you know.

But then again, she's probably only like this with me and our parents, so I suppose it's forgiven. I too always loved to brag my accomplishments to my siblings and parents. I wanted to make them proud of me after all. Well, until I gave up and became a failure, that is.

"Ooh, so he's your little brother?"

"How cute!"

The two now stared at me with curious eyes. I couldn't help but blush a little from the sudden attention I was receiving.

"Oh, right, I haven't talked about how feys differ from demons, have I?" Marina suddenly interrupted. “Well, they don’t, really, fundamentally speaking. Do you know what the term ‘demons’ really refer to?”

Hmm? Now that I thought about it, I actually didn’t know. So many times demons were mentioned in the books I had read, but none of them really defined them from real. They probably assumed that their readers would already be familiar with the term.

“What people referred to ‘demons’ were usually those that lived in the Demon Continent. And that includes the Fey.”

“Hey, don’t lump us off with those brutes!” The dryad suddenly protested. “We Fey have a territory of our own that is free from the influence of them! Like the Great Fairy Forest where we live!” The fairy nodded in agreement.

“Oh, forgive me. It’s not my intention to insult your people.” Marina quickly apologized. “But that’s exactly my point. The common folk don't really care about the distinction. Any nonhuman races that don’t have an alliance with us humans are deemed as demons in their eyes. In Milicis lands, it’s actually forbidden to perform summoning spells even.”

Milicis? Oh, it’s the most prominent religion of this world. They got their own theocracy and all. Well, Father and Mother didn’t seem to be amongst its followers though.

“Oh, look at that! It’s time for me to go!” The fairy suddenly exclaimed. “Payment please!” She flew straight towards Marina’s hair and gave it a good, long sniff. “Mmm, smells good as always! Cha chao!” And with that, she suddenly disappeared with a poof.

“Time for my payment as well,” the dryad then exclaimed. Marina nodded with a smile, walking towards her before tapping her wand onto her head, almost as if she was knighting her.

“There. That’s enough nutrition, right?”

“Yep!” The Fey exclaimed cheerfully. “Goodbye, Marina! Goodbye, Marina’s little brother!”

She went poof as well. Hey, she didn’t even know my name!

And with that, Marina decided to end our lessons for the day.

----
A/N:

Here's how I imagine Nicole looks. From the same manga as Sherry.

 

Chapter 9: Our New Daily Life Pt. 2

When we returned, Sherry was still busy doing her sword training with Father.

“Hyah! Hyah! Hyaaaah!”

Kaboom! The dog-sized rock that was standing in front of her was split into two. And she didn’t even need to actually connect her sword to the rock. She did it by just swinging it in a powerful downward slice from a distance.

Suddenly, I felt a pat on my shoulder. It was Father’s. “Sorry Hugo, but she totally outclasses you, even though she has only trained for a week.”

“I know, Dad.” I crossed my arms with a grump, sighing. “I really can’t compete with her super strength.”

Of course I was grumpy. I had trained for an entire year, yet I couldn’t even brag about it to either Sherry or Marina. The former could pretty much kick my butt, with or without a sword, and the latter, well, I changed my mind on trying to show off to her. With how much better she had gotten in magic, there was really no point in me bragging how I could do basic swordfighting now. I couldn’t even break a rock yet.

“Not just talking about that. The way she handles a sword—she’s a complete natural.” Father continued his praise. “And thanks to her strength, she’s perfectly suited for my style of swordsmanship too. She’s the student I always wanted!” He said with a laugh.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad. Really, now I felt like my old self again, whenever my parents praised my siblings instead of me.

"What? So I am not a student you want?" I said with a huff.

"N-no! Not at all, Hugo! Not at all!"

Sorry, Dad, but I just couldn’t help myself.

“Oh, don’t be so down on yourself, Hugo.” Marina interjected with a smile, messing up my hair as she often did. “You’re good at magic after all! When you reach my age, I have no doubt that you’d be better at me at it! Right, Father?!” Whew, she sent him a chilling glare that outright reminded me of Mother when she got angry.

“R-right, o-of course you are right, Marina!” He quickly answered with a cough. Ah, he really was weak to a woman’s glare like that. Well, I wouldn’t blame him. It really was quite scary.

Noticing our presence, Sherry stopped her training. The moment she saw me however, she quickly averted her gaze before running away. Huh, what? What did I do?

I would only know the reason later on.

-----

Sherry

Ooh, I couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t even look at him now! This was all her fault! She didn’t need to tell me all that, did she?

It had been only a week since I became a Greenwood, and yet I felt as if I had already been with them forever. Mrs. Renee, or as she insisted, M-m-mother—Ooh, I still couldn’t call her that!—had been really good with me. She made me sleep with her, where I could indulge in the warmth and love that I desperately wanted, even if I myself refused to admit it. She truly loved me, just like she loved her children. It didn't take long until I no longer minded having my face buried in her large chest. There was nothing embarrassing about it. In fact, it was a wholesome expression of her motherhood. It was normal for a woman's breasts to grow big when she became a mother. At least, that's what Nicole told me.

But then, last night, she told me something. About how it was Hugo who fought for me to be adopted into the family. "He stood up and said to us with this really serious look on his face, 'Father, Mother, I have a request for you two'. He then told us all about you, still with that serious look. Really, it was a mixture of both cuteness and coolness. What a sight that was!" She told me with a dreamy smile and a giggle. I could tell just how much she was proud of him for that speech of his. "'I won't let you insult her, Mother!' he then said with anger when I teased him about you, calling you 'wild and a bad influence'. Oh, sorry about that by the way. Didn’t mean that in the slightest.” She ruffled my hair with a smile. If she were a stranger, I probably would've been furious. I was never able to take any insults directed to me in stride. All the kids that teased me—I beat them up until they all stopped doing so in fear. But her, she was different. I knew she was just putting on an act, but what she said was true. I was wild and dangerous. Anyone who angered me would be hurt by me sooner or later. Even Mrs. Farla, who I was only patient with because I thought I could make her love me one day. And I knew that once I lost that desire, I could end up taking her life in a fit of rage. Such was my selfish self, only ever caring about my own needs and well-being. And so I said nothing, other than a flash of sadness on my face. To my relief, she continued onward, seemingly not noticing the change in my expression.

“At that moment, I knew that you’re not just a flight of fancy of my son. That he truly cares for you and wants you to escape the horrible life you have endured all this time. In fact, I dare say that he likes you, Sherry.”

Wait, l-like? A-as in, r-romantically? N-no, t-that can’t be right! N-no one would ever—

“Now, now, before you go into denial, let me tell you something. You are a really, really cute little girl, you know.”

“C-cute?! N-no! I’m not cute! Not cute at all!” I quickly denied, waving my arms around as I blushed terribly.

“Nonsense. Your long and straight raven hair—many girls would die to have such amy dear." lustrous hair. Look at how smooth they are.” She then combed her fingers through said hair. “Guys love playing with long hair like this, you know.” She smiled knowingly, as if she spoke from her own experience. Oh, right. She normally put her long blonde hair up in a bun. But now, she’s sleeping with it flowing freely down her back.

“I-I think blonde hair like yours is much prettier though… I-I mean, the Saint has long flowing locks that goes down to her feet! A-and she's supposed to be really, really beautiful, isn't she?!" I would've brought up Nicole as well. She too had pretty golden locks that I was jealous of.

"True enough." She continued to smile, still playing with my hair. "Milicis is certainly portrayed like that by the Church, doesn't she? Well, as a blonde myself, your black hair matches perfectly with your emerald eyes. With some dressing up, you would be so cute and adorable that Hugo would never be able to pull his eyes away from you."

“N-no! I-I don’t want to be Hugo’s lover or anything like that!” I blushed even harder.

“Oh? Is my son not good enough for you?” Her eyes suddenly went cold.

“N-no, not at all! He’s a really good and cute boy! Any girl would be lucky to have him!” I didn’t notice what I just implied, until she let out a giggle.

“I see. So you think he’s cute, hmm?" Damn it, I'd fallen into her trap! "Then, if, and this is just an if, you end up becoming his lover once you two are older, would it be to your liking?"

I paused. I didn't know how to answer. I was about to tell that no, she was wrong, that I had no feelings whatsoever for her son. But, that would be a lie. I did have some feelings for him. He was so genuine and sweet that I could not help but be fond of him. He was the first boy I had ever liked in my life.

But as a romantic partner? A lover? A-and a wife even? Immediately my imagination ran wild. I saw him, kneeling before me, offering me a ring as he proposed to me. And, like the shameless fool I was, I imagined him first as his child self, with his innocent, bright smile, before transforming him into what I imagined him to look like once he was older. Still with the same smile, but much, much more charming.

I had made him into a Prince Charming with me as the blushing princess, straight from the stories Nicole liked to tell me, even though back then, I always thought that she was better fitted for the role.

This, naturally, only increased my embarrassment even further.

“I-I don’t know.” I answered her, averting my face away. Ooh, it must be really red right now. “I-I certainly think that whoever he ends up marrying would be very happy… b-but that can’t be me, can it? H-he certainly doesn’t like me that way! A-and I would make a bad wife! I-I have a bad temper, a-and I can’t cook at all!” It’s true. Mrs. Farla tried to make me learn how to, but after months of trying, the cook who was supposed to teach me gave up. “This girl has no talent in cooking whatsoever!” He declared with passion, after I burned Mrs. Farla’s omelette for the 34th time. Yes, he counted it all. In the end, he had to be employed to act as the house cook, to Mrs. Farla’s dismay. It seemed she wanted to save money by making me do everything.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." She smirked. "I'll teach you all you need to become a good wife, alright? I too had to learn all this stuff, you know. Cooking, cleaning, satisfying him in bed…"

"S-satisfying him in bed? Y-you mean d-doing—"

"Oh, oops! You're still too young for that." She giggled. "I'll tell you all about that when you're older, alright?" She winked. I knew what she was talking about. All thanks to Nicole accidentally borrowing the wrong book from the town library. No, to be more exact, she thought it was just an ordinary fantasy book like the ones she always had. But then, we got to the scene where the hero visited the heroine’s room after they had faced a tough battle and won. We didn’t get far, as Nicole quickly closed the book, apologizing for reading such a “sinful” book, before hurrying back to the library to return it. But I remembered how the hero pushed down the heroine to the bed before grabbing her breasts, and that apparently made her moan.

When Nicole returned, I couldn’t help but ask what the odd scene was. She could only answer, “I-it’s something intimate between two lovers. Husband and wife stuff. W-we’re too young to be reading that kind of stuff, really.” She gave me a nervous grin as her face reddened once again, walking away from here to end the conversation. I wasn’t satisfied however, so I went to the library myself, and read the rest of the scene on my own.

And thus, I lost my innocence. I now knew what lovers did in their bedroom together at night, in the exact, graphic detail. My knowledge of the term “satisfying him in bed” came from there as well.

A-and to think I would have to do all that with him? W-with Hugo? I would have to let him push me down and grab my chest before throwing kisses all over my neck, as I moaned lewdly? Then he would take off his pants and take off my panties and thrust his—

”Oh dear, you seem to already know about a wife's duty in bed already." I didn't know how, but she just read my mind completely!

"N-no, I don't—"

"Shh, that's fine. That's perfectly fine. The first time I read a dirty book, I was also eight, just like you. It was my older brother's actually. Oh, the look on his face when I asked him about it." She giggled again.

“But enough about that for now.” I sighed inwardly in relief. Thankfully, it seemed she had decided to change the subject of our conversation, saving me from further embarrassment. “So, how about it? Do you want me to teach you all there is to know about housekeeping and being a wife?”

I paused once again. Cooking and cleaning. If I were to be honest, I never liked doing either, not when I was in the orphanage, and certainly not when I still lived with Mrs. Farla.

"Y-yes! I would love to!" I accepted, not because I liked them, but because I wanted to be grateful. I wanted to repay her and her family for accepting me, a complete stranger, as one of their own like this. If I could help around the house by cleaning and cooking and doing the laundry, I would certainly do so.

"Great!" She clapped her hands together. "We can start tomorrow morning with breakfast, alright?" I nodded. "Oh, and one more thing…"

----

"Ahhh… warm baths after a long day of training really are the best…"

I was now inside the bathroom, sitting inside the bathtub filled with warm water. Thanks to the heating pebble placed inside, there was no need to warm up the water beforehand with firewood (or a fire spell). Thanks to our close proximity with Mira, we can buy magic objects like this pretty cheaply.

And then, all of a sudden, the door opened. Ah, I forgot to lock it again.

“Dad, is that—w-whoa, S-Sherry?”

“Y-young Master Hugo! P-please allow me to wash your back!”

My jaw dropped. There she was, standing in front of the door, wearing what was most definitely a maid outfit.

I blinked once. And twice. And thrice, just to make sure that I wasn’t hallucinating.

Yep, she's still there, alright, in her glorious frilly maid outfit. She even got the headdress on. The design looked like your usual, prim and proper maid outfit, with a long skirt plus apron and long sleeves. There was just a little twist to it. The chest area was white, as the black dress was open on that part, with her wearing a white underdress underneath.

C-cute! Too cute! And her getting all embarrassed only makes her cuter! I was normally more into blonde loli but she was undeniably, blindingly cute at this point! So much so that I went into panic mode!

"I-I'm coming in!"

"W-w-wait, Sherry, I-I’m naked right now, you know! Naked!”

“T-that’s fine! I-I promise I won’t look! Y-you can just sit on the edge of the bath away from me a-and I’ll wash your back that way!”

Clearly, she was as embarrassed as me. Hell, she might even be more embarrassed.

But for her to do this, there must be a good reason. And I could only think up one single reason. One person, to be exact.

Mother put her up to this, didn’t she?

I sighed inwardly. Ever since Sherry became part of our family, I noticed how she was clearly matchmaking me and her. And this would just be yet another one of her schemes.

Even though I already told her that we’re not like that…

Well, I probably wouldn’t mind actually going out with her once we’re older though… She’s pretty cute after all, hehe…

For someone who had died a virgin like me, I have to take any chances I could to get a girlfriend! That’s one of my resolutions when I was reborn here!

She walked in, still as red as a tomato. She tried to keep her eyes away from my naked upper body, but it didn’t escape me that she would steal some glances here and there when she thought I didn’t notice.

“H-hey, Mother told you to do this, didn’t she?”

“N-no! I-I’m doing this out of my own will! Now would you just shut up and let me wash your back? N-no, I-I mean, p-please turn around and let me wash your back, Y-Young Master Hugo!”

Oh God, the way she corrected herself like that! She's so cute I feel I could get a heart attack from the cuteness!

I did as she asked, slowly lifting myself upward until I sat on the edge of the tub. I couldn’t help but blush however, as even though I could cover my little guy with my hands, my arse would be fully visible to her.

H-ha… Why am I blushing like this? She’s just an eight year old girl! And you’re supposed to be a pervert, for God’s sake! You can’t show off a little butt to a cute girl? It was like this too in my old life. When I was still a popular kid, I pushed away the girls that took interest in me, simply because I was too shy to engage with them.

That decision haunted me for the rest of my life. I could have become a real deal harem protagonist, goddamnit!

“U-umm, you’re supposed to rinse off with water first, right?”

I couldn’t see how she looked as I was looking away from her. But I could tell that she was definitely still blushing, just like me.

Using the water bucket placed nearby, she poured half of it on my head, making me shiver as the water there was colder than the water in the bath. Then, she gave the washing rug a little soap, before rubbing my back with it. Of course, that soap was quite different from the liquid soap I was used to back in my old world. It was an alchemy concoction, and since this world didn’t seem to have industrialized magic production, a bottle of soap could cost you a fortune. So she had to be careful not to waste even a single drop.

"O-ouch! H-hey, don't be so rough!"

"S-shut it! I just want to clean you up all proper—I-I mean, o-of course, Young Master! I-I'll try to be gentler."

She's really bad at this maid stuff, isn't she?

Well, might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

 

Chapter 10: Sherry Goes On The Offense!

Sherry

Urgh, stupid Hugo! Why must he be so whiny? Too hard, he says! Well, if you’re going to scrub something, you have to press the rug hard onto it!

Tch, he should just shut up and let me do it! It’ll end faster that way!

Grr, why am I doing this anyways? To be washing a boy’s back like this, a-and a naked one at that! Ooh, what would Nicole think?

Such thoughts swam inside my head as I worked on Hugo’s back. Since he complained that I was rubbing it too hard, I tried to tone down my strength, moving the cloth slower and pressing it less hard.

For a boy, his back and shoulder are surprisingly pretty firm… Must be from the training he got from Sir Al—I-I mean, F-Father…

Before I realized it, I was ogling him once again, as when he lifted himself off the bath, I obtained an eyeful of his behind. O-of course, I quickly looked away, and even now, I tried not to look downwards. I-I was not a pervert after all. The realization that staring at a boy’s naked back was also a perverted thing didn’t dawn on me until I was nearly finished, and it made me scrub the rest of his body as fast as I could, earning another complaint from him.

“S-shut up! I-I’m almost finished here! Don’t be a big baby!”

Grrr. Yet again, instead of giving him the respect he deserved, I was scolding him, just to mask my own embarrassment. I still remembered Mother’s words, about how I should treat him kindly, just like Marina. Technically, I too was his big sister after all.

B-but it’s not fair! Marina already knows him for her entire life! I bet she could wash his back without a single blush manifesting on her cheeks! She might even be able to do the front as well!

I couldn’t help but feel jealous of her. She knew Hugo so well. And they had their magic training together from the morning until the evening.

I knew that she would have to return back to her boarding school once summer was over, but still, looking at them, I could see that they shared a closeness that I could not pierce through.

Ah, that’s right! Once she’s gone, Hugo would have to return back to his sword training! That means we could train together for the other 9 months! Watch out, Marina! I’m coming for your No.1 sister spot!

...Oh, who was I kidding? I knew I could never replace her. Even if I could have more time with Hugo than her, I would never have the courage nor the temper to be really close with him! I would be too shy, and I would push him away!

“O-ouch, h-hey, d-don’t you think that’s enough already? My skin is already dry, you know!”

O-oh right, I had been rubbing his back on the same spot all this time.

“I-it’s done, Y-Young Master. L-let me rinse you afterwards.”

I turned around to grab the bucket again—

Only to slip forward, pushing both Hugo and myself straight into the bath.

I didn't know how it had happened. Perhaps some soap had spilled over, causing the ceramic floor to turn slippery. Perhaps it was me, not used to the fancy shoes I was wearing. Or perhaps it was just Fate, playing a prank on us. Well, the latter seemed to be most likely, as what happened afterwards could only come from the most unfortunate of coincidences.

As my face went underwater, I saw it. What lied in the middle of a boy's legs. The "spear of manhood", as that lurid book described. When I surfaced, I was completely red in the face. And horrified by what I just saw.

It wasn’t the first that I saw, as the little boys in the orphanage, around one to two years old, would sometimes wander around completely naked, as the nuns missed them. However, this was completely different. It belonged to Hugo, a boy that I had seen as a friend, and a boy whose mother had told me to marry when we were older.

And I saw it all in its full-sized glory, ready to pounce, just like that book described.

How could I not be embarrassed from such a sight?

Hugo soon surfaced as well, coughing up some water that had entered his throat.

And then, his eyes stared right towards my chest.

“Kyaahhh!”

I immediately covered myself with my arms. If my face could have gone any redder, it certainly would have.

The white part of my outfit—it had gone completely transparent, exposing my chest to his staring eyes.

At that time, I was completely flat, of course. However, I was old enough to have the same embarrassment as older, more well-endowed girls when their white shirts turned translucent, revealing whatever bras they wore underneath. In fact, it might be a little bit worse, as I didn’t wear any bras after all.

I couldn’t say anything. I could only feel my embarrassment reaching the tipping point, thanks to that and what just occurred under the water.

“P-pervert!”

I slapped him as hard as I could, before running away from the bath, leaving a trail of water and tears behind.

And so, what was supposed to be me giving my gratitude to him, ended up in a complete disaster. My temper had won over me once again. I didn’t even dare to look back, to see how much damage I had dealt to my benefactor by my full-powered slap. I immediately went to my room and locked myself there, like the coward I was.

And then, I cried.

------

“Oh no…”

I could only watch as Sherry left the bathroom like a hurricane, after giving me a good slap in the face.

Well, it was my fault. I did stare at her naked chest after all. I simply could not resist. Did you know how erotic it was to see a white fabric turn see-through like that on a girl? Even if that girl was an eight year old who was as flat as a board.

To my confusion however, the slap she just did—it barely hurt my cheeks. I thought she was supposed to have super strength. Where did that go?

I shuddered when I imagined what could have happened if she did hit me with her full strength though. My head could end up dislodged from my neck, I felt.

Mom, this is all your fault. That transparent fabric… you must have planned it from the start, haven't you? Just so she can get all embarrassed in front of me?

Thanks Mom, I-I mean, ahem, that's terrible, Mom! Poor Sherry must be crying right now!

I stood up, drying myself with a towel before I dressed myself up. I resolved myself. I had to go pay her a visit ASAP. If I knew her, she’s most likely back in her room right now.

Yeah, my old self would certainly have run away from this situation. I would just think, "Hey, it's her own fault she tripped! And she even took me down with her! And she dared getting angry with me?!" Perhaps I was right. It was her fault after all. As long as I was in the "right", I wouldn't care about anything else.

But now, I realized that way of thinking was wrong. It didn't matter who was in the "right". If you got into a fight with someone, you had to reach out to heal that gap. Swallow your foolish pride, if you truly wanted to be friends again.

And that was exactly what I was going to do now.

I climbed upstairs. Her room was right beside Father and Mother’s. Naturally, I found the door to be closed. “Sherry?” I knocked on the door. “Umm, s-sorry about that… I-I really shouldn’t have stared…” No response. Instead, I just heard muffled sobbing from behind the door. Oh God, I now felt even guiltier. What a garbage human being I was, making a little girl cry like this. “L-look Sherry, it’s my fault, alright? It’s completely my fault. You might think of me as this completely good kid, but that isn't true in the slightest. I am a pervert, through and through. I would have a peek at Big Sis' cleavage every time she bent over in front of me. And Mother's bouncing, swaying breasts fascinated me to no end. So when I got to see your naked chest, I couldn’t keep my eyes away! You were so cute that I would hate myself if I didn’t get to see it! So please, f-forgive me!” I bowed as deeply as I could to the door, even though I knew she couldn’t really see me doing it.

Silence. No response. But at the very least, it seemed the sobbing had stopped.

"You—you think I’m cute?”

...Eh? W-w-what's with her question all of a sudden?

“W-well, I think… I think y-yes, I think you are, Sherry! Very cute in fact! The cutest girl that I’ve ever met!”

I could not help but blush as I said such cheesy, cheesy words. I was about to chicken out on answering, saying noncommittal stuff like, "Well, you look nice…". But I remembered what Father had said the other day.

"Hugo, if you like something about a girl, make sure to tell her that, alright? You want girls to like you when you're older, right? So always be honest with them, and tell them what you like about them, even if you find it terribly embarrassing to say," he said out of the blue after he finished Sherry's training, Damn, Dad. Since when you were such a romantic?

"So that means you always praise Mother's boobs, don't you?" I smirked. Sorry Dad, but I just couldn't help myself.

"You cheeky little runt." He ruffled my hair with a grin. "Of course I do. Every single night in fact. God, there is nothing softer in this world than those two mountains of hers!"

Well, that's it. Father was a true pervert. Just like me. And that actually gave me a little relief, knowing that even a pervert like him could get such a beautiful wife.

My thoughts returned to Sherry and me having told her how cute she was. I wasn't lying. She was indeed cute. Compared to the other village girls I saw, which definitely had some cuties amongst them, despite their freckles, she stood above them all. It was the combination of her long black hair, her spirited nature, and the fact that she could beat the hell up that bully when we first met.

Well, she still couldn't compare to the busty onee-sans I saw at the village. I wouldn't call them cute though, so they didn't count. They were the beautiful type, just like Mother, and just like Marina. So, technically, I was not lying in the slightest.

I was sure Sherry would grow up to be a beauty though. A distant, raven-haired elegant type. Wait, she couldn't be elegant, could she? Still being a tomboy at that age would just ruin the image! She's not a redhead that could get away with it!

...No, I couldn't tell her what to do with her life. That wouldn't be fair to her. Even if Mother seemed hell-bent on making her be my wife, for some reason, if she decided not to, and, let’s say, went away to travel the world as an adventurer instead, and then fall in love with some jackass mage that she partnered with, it would be her choice.

I should tell that to Mother. To stop her being so pushy with her.

I waited for a while for her answer. Did I offend her, by praising her like that? Maybe she didn’t like being called cute? I certainly knew a couple of tomboy characters in the stories I had read that would kick the protag’s ass if they called them cute.

"Y-you're not… you're not just teasing, are you?" Finally, she answered!

"No, not at all!" I quickly returned. "I'm serious! 100%!"

Another pause. And then, she asked something that made my heart skip a beat.

"D-does that mean… does that mean that you like me?"

There it was—the scenario I was all too familiar with, the blushing girl asking a boy whether or not he liked her. It was basically a confession. No question about it.

I was asked the same thing in my old life by one of my elementary school classmates. Well, similar enough, at the very least. She asked me whether I already had a girlfriend or not. And I, like the absolute dumbass that I was, lied straight to her face. I told her that I already had a girlfriend, just so I could escape the embarrassment.

And that was the worst lie that I could’ve concocted. I could’ve said that she was in another school. But no, my mind panicked. I didn’t realize the implication of what I just said to her, as it led to a “civil war” between my admirers, as they accused each other of being my secret girlfriend. It got so bad that it led to an actual catfight in recess. Both girls got detention as a result.

Eventually however, they realized that they had been duped. None of them were really my girlfriend. And that I had lied to them.

And that was when I started garnering scorn from the opposite sex.

This time would be different. This time, I would choose my words as carefully as I could.

Think Hugo. Think on what you really want from Sherry. Do you just want her as a friend? Or something more?

I know that you’re just a six year old kid. You’re not supposed to make decisions like this yet. And she’s still eight as well. Childhood friend promising to marry in the future… that only happens in harem stories, not in reality. She would most likely grow bored of you as she gets old, and then she will leave you.

So how should you answer her? Should you tell her that you indeed like her, humoring her for a few years until she tires of you? Or should you reject her now, making her suffer a heartache that would surely put a distance between you two?

...I knew my answer now.

"Yes, I do like you, Sherry! Ever since I met you, I was attracted to you! That's why I always try to visit you everytime I went to the village!"

There. I said it. Now, to wait for her reaction.

To my surprise, the door opened. There, her head peeked out, all red and flustered. She was now wearing her nightgown, just a simple one-piece white dress.

"T-then prove it. Prove it by sleeping with me tonight."

I froze. D-did I just hear that right?

"T-that's what boys and girls do when they like each other, r-right? M-my friend Nicole told me so, back at the orphanage. A-and she wouldn't lie!"

T-this Nicole person, surely she was just talking about actually sleeping together right, not actually doing that?

As I stood there, unable to respond, a frown slowly grew in her embarrassed face. I immediately knew that if I didn't immediately accept her demand, then she would slam the door in my face and call me a liar.

I had no choice. I had to accept.

"S-sure, we can do that!" I flashed her my nervous smile.

"G-good. Then get in."

T-to think that this would be how I was invited to be in a girl's room for the first time—by an 8-year old girl of all people. I couldn't help but feel I was committing a crime by doing this.

The room was decently large, similar as mine. And the bed was thankfully large enough so that we could sleep on opposing sides without having to look or touch each other.

"I-I'll take the right. You take the left." She told me. She couldn't even look me in the eye as she ordered me around.

I sat down on the bed, taking my shoes and socks off. I supposed for tonight, I wouldn’t sleep in my pajamas. I waited until she tucked herself in before doing the same.

“S-so… now what?”

“W-wait, why are you asking me? I-I don’t know!” That was a lie of course. I knew exactly what we could do next if we were really supposed to act as lovers, from simple hugging, to kissing, to doing that, which would be an absolute no-no! No sirree! I might find my anime lolis cute, but I would never go that far to actual children in real life! Even though I was technically younger than her!

"W-what? I-I thought you're all smart and stuff… Your mother always bragged about how smart you are, you know!"

"T-this is the first time I slept with a girl like this, you know!"

"Liar! Your mother told me you used to sleep with Marina! And even now, you still sometimes slept with her, like when she returned home from her school? What did you two do there?"

W-wait, Mom knew about that? Did Marina get caught?

"W-well, we… just hugged, that's all." Crap, I shouldn't have said that! I should just say that we slept peacefully on our sides of the bed and that's that!

"Alright. Hug me then." She turned to face me, still the same redness and poutiness from before.

I had no choice. I brought myself closer and wrapped my arms around her lithe, small body.

"I-is this it?"

"Y-yeah, this is it. This is all we did."

I then felt it. Her arms going around my body and hugging me tightly. She also buried her face in my chest.

"T-then?"

"Then we sleep. That's it."

We stayed like that for a while, frozen and unmoving. Both of us were too nervous to do anything else.

G-god, this is so awkward…

Eventually however, we fell asleep, with her doing it first. I was going to release myself from her hug, but her strength prevented me from doing so. In fact, the more I struggled, the more she tightened her grip on me, to the point that it was starting to hurt.

And so I surrendered. I let myself fall asleep in her embrace, after I played a little with her smooth and silky black hair. Because why the hell not? Might as well do it while I could. It wasn’t like she was going to sleep with me like this again. In fact, I bet that in the morning, she would throw me to the floor once she woke up. Urgh, that would be painful.

With those thoughts, I drifted off to sleep, carried away by her surprisingly nice scent. Different than Marina’s, but just as pleasant, only in a different way.

 

You still working on this?

 

Yeah. I'm just not posting it here anymore since I'm not getting any comments over here. Latest update is always on Scribblehub.

 

Oh ok, thxs for the quick reply!

 

Chapter 11: Meet The Fairy!

Sherry

“Uuuhhh…”

My eyes fluttered open. A familiar-looking white ceiling was above me. I was in my new bedroom.

It seemed I had fallen asleep before I realized it.

Suddenly, I felt it—a tickling sensation right on my most sensitive place.

"A-ahn!"

I couldn't help it. A moan just came out from my mouth on its own. It was just like that lurid book described, with the heroine unable to resist moaning shamelessly as the hero assaulted her, even though the walls of the room were thin and she very well knew their neighbours would be able to hear what was going on. It led to quite the embarrassing scene afterwards, where the innkeeper would scold them for being too loud and disturbing the sleep of the other guests.

I looked down, and there was a person there—his upper half disappearing inside my white nightgown.

“H-Hugo! W-what are you doing down there?” No good. He was clearly still asleep.

And then, a rush of memories suddenly entered my mind. How he told me that I was “the cutest girl that he ever knew”, and how he admitted that he liked me, and how I invited, no, demanded for him to sleep with me for the night.

My face immediately went beet red. What was I thinking?

And now, he’s here, right under me, with his breath tickling my precious spot.

"Ahhnnn, H-Hugo! N-not there…" I moaned again—tears starting to pool in my eyes.

My first instinct was to kick him off the bed right then and there. How could he do such a thing to a girl when she was sleeping? However, I stopped myself. I was the one who forced him to be here. And since he was still sleeping, he must not be doing this on purpose. I was a bad sleeper after all. In my sleep, I somehow must have moved around to end up in this position with him.

Suddenly, he stirred. But instead of going downwards, as I wished he would be, he instead moved upwards, pushing his nose right into my pantied crotch.

"Aaahhnnn, H-Hugo, no, Hugo!" I tried to push him away but I found my strength suddenly not being there. Not to mention that my legs were now gripping him, as if they wanted to push him even further into me.

I-is this divine retribution? For seeing what's between his legs yesterday in the bath? Now he's seeing what's between mine! Not only that, but he's also breathing into it!

I should've apologized! I was the one at fault! Why did I slap him like that?

Oh, Saint Milicis! P-please stop this at once! Or I'm going to die out of embarrassment!

Just when I thought I was going to lose it, a rush of steps closed in, followed by the door opening with a bang. It was Marina, and her gaze was immediately locked in towards me and Hugo.

Immediately a chill went through my entire body. She was mad. Really mad. Calling her angry would be quite the understatement.

Without hesitation, she pulled Hugo away before shaking his body, telling him to wake up.

What followed after was a straight lecture for half an hour, as she basically scolded Hugo for doing what he just did to me. He just sat there with a pitiful, sorry look, avoiding both her gaze and mine. I tried to interrupt multiple times, telling her that it wasn't his fault, but she would always tell me to stay out of it, not wanting to listen to any of my arguments.

When she was done, Hugo was in the verge of tears. This was the very first time I saw him like this. I wanted so badly to go there and gave him a hug, but I knew Marina would not approve.

"I-I'm sorry, S-Sis…" His voice shook. "I-I promise I wouldn't do it again…" He sniffed.

That’s it, I couldn’t just stand by any longer! I had to come to his rescue!

“Stop! Don’t scold Hugo any longer! It was my fault! All of it!” I rushed forward, standing in front of him with my arms outstretched, giving a tearful glare towards the older, taller girl. “I was the one who forced him to sleep with me! And I was the one who moved around in my sleep, making him end up in a position like that! He didn’t do anything! He was just breathing in his sleep, that’s it! If you want to punish someone, then punish me!” I panted. Suddenly, I was completely out of breath. Without realizing it, I had been yelling at her.

She paused for a while, looking straight at me. It felt like an eternity, with her and I staring at each other—no one seemingly wanting to give an inch, to show a weakness to the other.

And then, all of a sudden, she started to laugh.

“O-oh you two! Really! You are so serious that it’s adorable!”

For a good minute, she just stood there, laughing to herself, holding her stomach as if she was in pain. And when she finished, she wiped some tears of her own eyes, as some had gotten out from her laugh.

“Alright, alright, I get it now. It’s my defeat. You two really do like each other after all.” She cheerfully declared, while ruffling both of our hair. "Hugo, I'm so proud of you, standing up for Sherry like that. You're planning to take all the blame, don't you? How chivalrous! Just like a little gentleman!" She then turned to me. "And you, Sherry, you're willing to speak up to save Hugo, even though you know that you would be punished for it. You're honest and I like that in a person, especially one that might be my little brother's wife in the future.” She gave me a little wink here. “Now I know for sure that I will leave him in safe hands while I am gone."

Had this… had this all been an act by her?!

"Before I leave though, let me say one other thing. Let this be a lesson to you two, alright? Especially you, Sherry. Inviting a boy to sleep with you like that? Not a good idea. Even though it’s Hugo, he’s still a boy with his desires. As his older sister, I know that he already has some fondness for a girl’s body, and it would only increase as he gets older. Of course, he, as the good boy that he is, would try to hold back and not do anything that would upset you. But, if you invite him like that, he can turn into a beast that would devour you whole. All boys are like that. In fact, it would be odd if a boy doesn’t have at least some lust towards the female form, especially when they’re older. And you, Hugo.” She turned towards him. “Take care of her well, alright? If she shows a moment of weakness again like last night, don’t just take on her offer. You have to think about the consequences first. I do not want a little brother that would closely befriend a girl, only to throw her away once he gets bored.”

And with that said, she left us two, with me befuddled at what just occurred.

“H-hey…” Hugo turned to me. “S-sorry again… f-for what I did there…”

BA-DUMP!

H-he’s blushing! T-that’s so cute! I almost threw myself into him for a hug!

“S-stop apologizing! It’s my fault, remember? A-and the incident in the bath too! That’s my fault as well!”

“R-right…”

With an awkward tension between us, Hugo left the room. Before he could leave however, I stopped him, just to ask this one last question.

“B-by the way… d-do you like it… w-when I wore a maid’s clothing like last night?”

I didn’t know what came over me at that time. Only that I suddenly wanted to know more about his… preferences in girls. If what Marina said was true, then he must already have said preferences. And I… I wanted to fulfill them. I-if they weren’t too embarrassing, of course.

He halted his steps. Without turning around, he answered, “Y-yes. I-I think you look really cute in them.” And then, he ran away.

And that was how my first night with him ended. After this, I wouldn’t invite him again, remembering what Marina said to me. I would, however, continue to strive to be a girl that he would like. Even though he already said that he liked me, I still couldn’t rest my laurels. I wanted to be even more liked by him. I was turning greedy. I wanted him all for myself.

I just hoped that one day, he would find me as desirable.

Hugo

Autumn was approaching, and that meant Marina had to return back to the magic school soon. Knowing this, I strived to learn as much as I could about magic from her.

I learned more about summoning spells and how they worked. Apparently, after a contract was formed, a summoner would only manifest the projection of the spirit/monster he or she made the contract with. You wouldn’t really be summoning the real deal, so to speak. That would be reserved for advance level summoners, where they would know the true name of their summons. Once they did, they could keep their summons around for basically forever, and without fulfilling their demands if they so chose. They called it a Familiar Pact, and it basically forced the spirit to do whatever biddings the summoner had in mind. Since he or she knew the spirit’s true name, they really couldn’t resist the commands of their summoner.

That only applied to the Fey, by the way. Demons didn’t really have true names. To make a demon stay around for long, you don’t need to do anything special. You just need to keep feeding it mana, and if the demon decided they wanted to stay around, they would. In fact, there was no obligation for the demon to return if they didn’t want to. Marina’s teacher told her a story about a young mage who was haunted by a succubus demon that would never leave him alone. And she would interfere with his love life, like she was his extremely jealous and possessive girlfriend. Only after he learned to forcefully banish her that he could escape from that nightmare.

Well, I wouldn’t know if that anecdotal story was true. But it’s certainly a good propaganda-ish reason why summoning demons was quite frowned upon. You couldn’t quite control them like you could with the Fey. Though Marina also said that a handful of her classmates actually ended up making a pact with them. In Mira, it wasn’t illegal to do so.

Marina herself said that she was never interested in summoning any demons, apparently. She said that they all looked shady and dicey to her. She preferred to summon more Feys instead.

I couldn’t help but be relieved from her declaration. I wouldn’t want her to summon an incubus boy that would try to seduce and even bed her. Urgh.

Oh, I hadn’t talked about summoning demands yet, had I? To make a contract, you need to promise a specific thing to the being you were going to make a contract to, that had to be fulfilled every time you summoned it. Taking Marina as an example, her fairy wanted a sniff of her aroma, while her dryad wanted her to give her some nutrients through her magic. I imagined the more powerful the creature was, the harder the required task would be.

I was taught my first summoning spell at last. Just like her, I was going to summon a Fey. At first, I didn’t want to try summoning a fairy, but she insisted, saying that, “You have to start from the basics! A fairy is the easiest Fey to summon, and the safest as well!” So I did as she instructed, placing a flower pot specially fertilized with a potion she made near my bed. Just as she said, a week later, I had the dream she foretold.

When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in my room. I was in a forest. Most likely the Great Fairy Forest in the Demon Continent, as she told me.

Wew, this place… it’s… extraordinary...

I was speechless. Just looking around where I started, it was clear that this forest was not an ordinary one. It looked and felt a lot more fantastical, with many of the trees and branches bending over in unnatural-looking ways. And I felt a certain ambient energy permeating through the air, entering me every time I breathed. Ah, the ambient magic of the Demon Continent. I remembered Marina telling me about it. The entire continent was enveloped in an unnaturally high level of ambient magic compared to other continents.

Of course, I wasn’t actually there. My current body was just an astral projection, manifested by the ritual pact I was currently engaged in. I wouldn’t know how accurate my senses were at this moment.

I walked forward, looking around for any fairies that I might make a pact with. It certainly would be nice if I could find a cute one, though usually, all fairies tend to be cute in the fantasy stories I had read.

Hmm, that’s odd. I couldn’t find a single one. Shouldn’t there be an abundance of fairies around in a place called the Great Fairy Forest?

My steps carried me into a small spring, with water gushing out from the middle of the body of water.

And there, on the top of said gushing water, was a fairy, seemingly asleep on top of the water spout.

She’s beautiful!

Such was my first impression of her. Unlike Marina’s fairy, who fit in the palm of her hand, she was much bigger. If I had to say, she was around the size of a small cat. She could perch on my shoulder with no problem whatsoever.

She had long and wavy blue hair, tied and braided when it ended near her feet. Her head was adorned by white flowers (I couldn’t name them), and she wore a white dress with a bluish skirt that was longer in the back, exposing her lovely thighs a little.

Just by looking at her, I decided. I wanted her to be my fairy.

But how would I go about making a pact with her though? Marina didn’t say anything about that. She just said that every fairy would have their own conditions and such. What? So this was just like courting a girl?

And then, I noticed it—her eyes slowly fluttering open.

“Kyaah! A human!”

She fell down through the spout, almost comically, I might add. Was this fairy the clumsy type? She quickly recovered however, and she immediately flew away from me.

No good! I had to catch her! "Hey, wait!" I chased after her. "I want to make a pact with you! I'm a mage, you see!"

She stopped. And suddenly, just as fast as she had escaped, she went back, smile going up both ears, eyes like an excited puppy. “Really?! Really? Really? Really? You want me to become your summon?” She said in a sing-along voice. “Y-yes, really!” I couldn’t help but be taken aback by her excitement. “Then take me take me take me! I’m so bored here! I want to play around on the outside too, like the others! Can you believe that no one has ever made a contract with me even though I’m already a high fairy? Uuu, I want to go too! I wanna gooooo!!!”

Oh God. I thought she would be the calm type, judging by her looks! But she’s unexpectedly whiny and childish like this! Maybe all fairies were just like that? And a high fairy? So she’s not just a normal fairy?

“A-alright then!” I couldn’t help but be taken aback a little. “One thing though, what kind of compensation do you want?”

“Compensation?” She raised her eyebrows. “Ooh, right… that…” For a moment, she paused, seemingly deep in thought. “I know!” She suddenly declared. “You give me a head pat and praise me for the good job that I just did!”

What. That was certainly an… odd request to ask.

Well, not as odd as wanting to smell you, I suppose.

Well, I wouldn’t complain. It was an easy request to do after all. I quickly agreed, and with it, it seemed we had finished our pact.

Chuu~♥

With a kiss to the cheek, she bid me goodbye, telling me to call upon her soon. Damn, she’s pretty precocious, wasn’t she? Not that I was complaining of course.

Wait, how about the summoning chant though?

----

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I somehow immediately knew the words I would need to summon her. Quickly, I ran over to Marina’s room, wanting to tell her that I had done it. I could summon my very first spirit at last!

Only to stumble upon her right in the middle of changing, as she bent over forward, pulling her panties upwards.

W-whoa!

I could see it all; the smooth, plump butt, the teal panties she were pulling upwards, and the embarrassed look on her face as she realized that I just entered..

“Hugo, what did I say about knocking first before barging into a girl’s room?” Oof, that scary smile… I’m in trouble now!

“S-sorry, Sis, I-I forgot!” I quickly answered. “I was so excited that I couldn’t help running over here as soon as I could! I just made a contract with my fairy, Sis!”

Her scary smile disappeared, replaced by a curious and intrigued look. She pulled the panties upwards, letting her dress fall afterwards. Thankfully, she had already worn the rest of her dress. Just not her panties, for some reason.

“Really?” She smiled with excitement. “Then show me! Right here! Right now!”

“A-alright, Sis, alright! Sheesh, no need to rush me…”

I immediately began my chant, holding my right hand forward as I gathered my mana. I would need to conjure the summoning circle mid-air, where the summon would come out from. I imagined the circle forming, all the while chanting the spell as clearly as I could.

When I opened my eyes back up again, there she was—the fairy, smiling at me.

“Wow, but that’s… that’s a high fairy, isn’t it?” Marina exclaimed. “You get one as your very first summon?” It was clear that summoning a high fairy was not something a complete beginner like me should be able to do.

“Hello, Hugo!” The fairy cheerfully waved her hands. “And hello, another human I don’t know about!” She waved her hands again towards Marina.

I then started to explain how I met her. Well, before she decided to interrupt me and told the story herself, that is. And for some reason, she felt it was necessary to embellish things. Quite severely, I might add. She started to talk about how I saved her heroically from an evil kobold who wanted to kidnap her and make her his wife, even though obviously nothing like that ever happened.

“And that’s how Hugo became my master!” She patted her chest proudly. Marina just blinked with a clear look of confusion on her face as she finished her story.

“U-uh, right…” She could probably tell that the story was too outlandish to be true as well. “So, Hugo, looks like you really got a high fairy as your first summon. That’s really quite rare, you know. High fairies are quite above the level of the common fairies. They’re bigger for starters, and they could cast some magic other than healing ones. This one you got? She seems to be a spring fairy, so she could probably cast some water spells.”

“Yep! Rightomundo!” The fairy declared. “Need your plants to be watered, Master? Then I’m your girl!”

Uh, I don’t think I would use a fairy for that purpose… though it certainly can be quite convenient...

“Oh, look at that!” The fairy suddenly declared. “Time’s running up! Master! Your headpat and praise please!” She flew towards me, leaning forward with a happy smile, closing her eyes. Wew, this fairy really didn’t know any shame, did she?

I did as she demanded, patting her head and saying to her, “Great job! Thank you for the introduction!” with a smile. “Hehe, you’re welcome, Master! You’re welcome!” She giggled. And then, she flew closer to me and gave me another kiss to the cheek before disappearing.

I looked back at Marina... and saw that her expression had soured considerably.

She didn’t say anything however. Well, not to me anyways. Under her breath, I could hear her whisper, “Really? Is every girl Hugo meets will flirt with him like this?”

I couldn’t help but grin a little. Big Sis is getting jealous! Big Sis is getting jealous!

I didn’t say it to her of course. I wouldn’t want another half an hour lecture after all.

------

A/N:

Here’s how Hugo’s new fairy looks.

 

Chapter 12: At The End of Our Beautiful Summer


Marina

Aah, to think that my summer break is almost over…

I’m going to miss Hugo again for sure…

I was now walking up to the hills where I usually trained his magic in. It was the last day before I had to return so I fully intended to make it a worthwhile session.

Whoosh…

"Ah…" I quickly put my hands behind me, pulling down my dress. The day was quite windy, so I had to be careful with my dress or else Hugo would be able to look at my panties.

Oh, who was I kidding? I wanted him to look.

Ever since his incident with Sherry, where he, well, got terribly intimate with the girl, I realized something.

He wouldn't need me anymore with her around.

I would go back to school, and stayed my lonely, bullied self there, while he would be happy, playing with Sherry as much as he wanted to.

I was jealous.

And that disgusted me. A big sister was supposed to be happy if her little brother was happy. And yet, my heart was feeling this way.

The worst part was that I didn't even know whether I was jealous of him because he had a close friend around, or I was jealous of Sherry for being able to be with him much more than I could.

Oh Hugo… if only you could come to the academy with me… Oh he would definitely try to protect me from that Merinda girl… he is my little knight in shining armor after all…

Another breeze blew, raising up my dress again. I looked backwards and saw him immediately averting his gaze with a blush once he noticed I was looking. So cute!

Hmm, I think I know now. The perfect parting gift for him.

----

Urgh, really Sis? You should really be more careful with your dress. That's the, what, seventh time I saw your panties today? They might be knee-length but they're really susceptible to the slightest gust of wind that blew, you know.

Whoooshh...

Goddamnit, here we go again. Why must she wear such skimpy pink panties anyway? Doesn't she know how sexy they looked? And she already knew I "could already appreciate the female body" too.

Wait, don't tell me that she actually wanted me to look at them?

“Alright, Hugo.” Unfortunately, my train of thought was interrupted by her. Huh. Before I noticed, we had arrived at the top of the hill. “It’s time for your yearly final test. Just like me, you too have to know what it’s like to be asked to demonstrate all the magic that you know to your teacher.” She must be talking about the academy. “We have been learning advanced level magic this summer, correct?”

“Y-yes, Sis!” I answered. Suddenly, her demeanor transformed into that of a teacher. It was honestly amazing, how a mere 11-year old girl could have such a mature presence.

“Then, show me all the spells that you could do.” With a grin, she moved out of the way, letting me take the center stage.

I gulped. Now all of a sudden I felt nervous. Why did she have to say it’s a test? I was never good at tests. Well, I once was, when I was still considered a genius that got straight A’s in every exam. But for the rest of my life, I could only barely pass my exams.

No, this is different. I have trained hard with Marina for the entire summer. I’m no longer the lazy, cram-everything-in-the-last-day guy I was before. I can do this. I can do this!

I took a deep breath. First, Fire.

“Oh, one more thing.” Damn it, she interrupted me! “I want you to cast them all chantless.” She added with a grin.

“B-but Sis!” I protested. “I’ve never done any of them chantless before! You had me learn them with a chant and once I could do them, you would immediately go to the next element!”

“Oh shush, You can do it." She dismissed me entirely! "You should remember the feeling of casting those spells, right? The flow of mana and how you form them to weave the spells? For you, who had cast magic without chanting all his life, this should be a piece of cake."

Now I felt like I was being pressured even more!

I took another deep breath and calmed myself. I reached both my hands upwards and then closed my eyes. I imagined the spell, Flame Wall. A wall made of fire. The shape? A circle around me. The radius? Ten meters. The height? Two meters.

Come on, come on, make it work!

And then, it did. A blaze of flames suddenly appeared around me. Ten meters away and two meters tall. Just like I imagined it

"I-I did it!"

"I knew you could!" Marina cheered from outside the circle. Even through the flames, I could tell that she looked very happy.

Alright! I'm going to ace the other elements as well!

I was now excited instead of nervous. I could do it! I now had the perfect confidence!

I put the fire out by disconnecting my mana flow. Then, I moved on to the next element.

Water. Water Spout. Summoned a powerful geyser from the ground.

Earth. Earthen Break. Made the ground explode into hundreds of rocks and dirt.

Thunder. Thunder Strike. Created a thundercloud that fired off a powerful lightning.

Ice. Cold Blast. Enveloped the target in a large blanket of ice and snow.

Wind. Air Sunder. Created a miniature cyclone.

When I was done, I was completely out of breath. My mana was completely drained and I had to sit down in fear of passing out. But I was happy, as I had passed her test with flying colors. I could hear her clapping with pride before she approached me.

“Well done, Hugo, well done!” She ruffled my head. She probably would’ve hugged me if she wasn’t still in her teacher persona. “To think that you could do all that chantless, and without a wand as well! Normally, you have to start using wands to cast Intermediate-level magic and above, you know!”

“E-eheheheheh…” I could only give her my grin. I was too tired to say anything else.

“So, as your teacher, I have a gift for you.”

She took out her wand and then flicked it in front of her. Suddenly, a rectangular-shaped wooden box popped out of thin air. She grabbed it before it could fall to the ground.

“Spatial magic.” She spoke to me with a proud smile. “Interdimensional storage.”

Right, space magic. She had introduced me to it before. Unlike elemental spells, I seemed to have no talent in it whatsoever. It belonged to the “miscellaneous” family of magic, as it didn’t have the rigid classification of levels that elemental magic had. The only spatial magic I could cast was a simple teleport on a non-living being. A pebble, to be exact. I could move it for around one meter, and that’s that.

“Here.” She handed over the box to me.” Open it.”

I examined the book with a confused yet curious look. It was pitch black, and it was made with the smoothest wood I had ever encountered. I couldn’t really tell what kind of wood it was unfortunately.

I opened it, and there, inside, was a wand.

“It’s your own wand, Hugo. Take it out, will you?” I looked back at her, and saw that she was smiling so brightly that it was almost blinding. And were those tears I saw pooling in her eyes?

“It’s my gift for you, for being an Advanced-level mage. Use it with pride.”

I took it out as gingerly as I could. It seemed so… fragile, as if I could just snap it in two with my two hands. And it looked quite different than the one she had. Her wand had a red crystal on the tip and was brown in color, while this was just a straight slim stick that became slimmer as it got nearer to the tip.

“Sorry for not giving it to you earlier.” She continued, wiping off her right eye with her index finger. “But I wanted to see how far you could get without a wand. And to think that you could cast Advanced-level magics barehanded… you’re amazing, Hugo! Oh, if only there isn't that stupid rule, you could've entered the academy with me for sure! You are already far smarter and more skilled in magic than all the ten year olds that enrolled with me!"

She couldn’t hold herself back any further. She gave me a hug so tight that I was hurting a little from it. She didn’t even care that I was soaking with sweat. “Oh, I’m going to miss you, my cute little brother…” Once again, she brought me to her budding chest. She really was fond of this move, wasn’t she?

I decided that I would indulge her little brother complex however. I too quickly felt overwhelmed by all the emotions that were flowing through me. For a long time in my old life, I always felt worthless. I couldn't achieve anything that I could be proud of. But now—now I felt that I had accomplished something that mattered. Something that made me feel… special.

Well, she’s still more special than me though. What I just did was all single-element Advanced spells. And she, from a year ago, could already cast several multi-element ones. And they were naturally more difficult than what I just performed.

There was no jealousy in my heart however. Only pride—pride that my big sister could be such a genius and talented magician. That part of my old self, who would scorn his little sister who was much more intelligent than him, was no longer inside me.

Releasing me from her embrace, she stood up, eyes still wet and sparkly. "Here. Let me show you my ultimate magic before we go home. Just so you could see what one day you would no doubt be able to accomplish."

She told me to move away, which I quickly obeyed. And then, she drew her wand and aimed it straight to the ground a distance away in front of her.

"O power that lay hidden beneath the Earth! Hear my plea! Grant me the blessings and bounties of nature, so that I might shake this very world with your manifestation! Spread your roots far and wide, and let your bark and leaves become my sword and shield! Become the very tree that illuminates the world’s foundations! Grow and flourish, o great Yggdrasil! Judge those that dared defile the land!”

It was a very long incantation, and she did not hurry in the slightest as she spoke the words. Her speech was deliberate and pronounced, almost as if she was reciting a poem. It took almost a whole minute until she finished.

And then, the world trembled.

“W-whatt? E-earthquake?”

No, it wasn’t. Not in the slightest. It was the shaking of something huge, coming from the ground right underneath us. Unlike me, she was standing completely unfazed, staring at the large clearing in front of her.

And then, a massive tree punctured the ground in front of her like it was nothing, growing taller and taller until its shade covered both of us entirely.

“Master-level Earth magic. Yggdrasil.” She turned towards me with a smile. “I learned it just before I returned back home.”

I could only stare in awe, completely speechless on the display in front of me.

Once again, she proved to me that it was still very, very far until I could catch up to her.

----

We returned back home afterwards (the tree simply returned back to the ground after she was finished with her demonstration, and the hole left behind was nothing that her Earth magic couldn’t fix), after she made sure to make me promise that I too would learn a Master-level spell one day. She jokingly suggested that I would be able to cast it at the end of the next summer. I quickly refuted her, of course. There’s no way I could learn such a spell just the next year!

“And besides, didn’t you explain once before that knowing how to cast a Master-level magic means you can graduate from the academy? Doesn’t this mean that you could just graduate right away?”

"It is the bare minimum, yes. To graduate, you have to be able to cast at least a single Master-level spell. However, most students would graduate with two or three under their belt. There are even students who graduated with even more Master-level spells. And some, the handful elite they said, that only appeared once every ten years—they managed to reach the highly covered Grandmaster-level.”

I remembered that. That’s the level above Master, just below Saint. If you managed to reach that level as a mage, you would pretty much be a superstar in the Magocracy. You would become famous in no time, and you would have the right to sit on the ruling council of mages they had there. Well, if there was an opening. If not, then you would have to challenge one of them in a mage vs mage duel. If you won, then you could replace him or her as a council member. At least, that’s what Marina had told me.

“So, Sis, are you aiming for that level before you graduate?” I asked with a grin. I could certainly imagine her reaching that summit with the rate she was growing right now. She returned with her own shy smile. “I don’t know, to be honest. But after Father spent a large sum of our family’s gold on the entrance fee, I certainly wouldn’t waste the remaining five years I would spend there.”

“Five years, huh? And after that?”

“After that?” She looked at me with a slight tilt to her head.

“What do you want to do after that? After you graduate?”

She paused. "I have no idea to be honest. I suppose I would find some work as a mage, whatever that could be."

"Then, how about becoming adventurers? With me and Sherry! She could be the frontline fighter while we fire off spells from the back! Just like a proper party!"

There. I said it. My current goal for the future. Form an adventuring party with her and Sherry. Then we could all go on exciting adventures together. Why would you not be an adventurer if you’re in a fantasy world, huh?

With a smile, she ruffled my hair once again. "Oh Hugo, you still need a healer, you know? No adventuring party can ever be good without one."

"Then, how about you, Sis? Can you learn some healing magic?"

“No, unfortunately. The Academy doesn’t really teach Holy Magic, you see, which healing magic belongs under, in case you don’t remember. That branch of magic belongs more to the followers of Milicis and their religious schools. And, as I’ve told you before, the mages of Mira don’t really get along well with them.” She never really told me the reason why they didn’t get along. Only that it was caused by differences in their beliefs. Yeah, I could imagine that. From what I read and I heard from Sherry, the Milicis faith was pretty similar to medieval-era Catholicism in my world. So I imagined they would share the same zealotry and intolerance as well. Hmm, I wonder what the Saint herself would say if she saw them today.

“I guess we just have to find a cleric first then! Hey, how about Mother? She used to be one, right?”

“Hmm? What kind of an adventuring party brings their mother along? That sounds more like a family picnic to me. Might as well bring Father along too for a second fighter.” She giggled.

I grinned back. It was just a joke suggestion of course. It would be really lame and embarrassing if I had to bring around Mother or Father on my adventures. Sorry, Dad. Mom.”

We continued to chat as we walked home, accompanied by a beautiful reddish-gold sunset behind us. And before we knew it, we already arrived.

----

The next morning, Marina departed early, right after breakfast. Another two weeks trip to a foreign school. And just like how she arrived, she returned there alone as well. We all watched and waved our hands as the carriage rolled away, including Sherry. Goodbye, Sis. I’ll make sure to keep writing you letters on how my magic lessons are going!

Before she left though, she whispered something interesting to me. “Hey, Hugo. Check under your bed later. I left you two more presents there. Keep them until I get back home next summer, alright? Oh, and don't tell Sherry or anyone else!”

Hmm, what's up with the secrecy? Well, whatever. I already showed off my new wand to everyone. I didn't need to show off these two additional presents from her.

I immediately rushed back to my room. Just as she told me, there was another box right under my bed. With glimmering, excited eyes, I immediately crawled down to get it, pulling it out as fast as I could. And then, I opened it right away.

A book?

I took it out. The title said, "The Adventures of The Legendary Archmage and Hero.” It seemed to be a picture book made for kids. I opened the cover and found a little parchment put inside. Hmm, it seemed to be a handwritten note from Marina.

This is a little picture book I purchased in Mira. I’ve read it so I thought I’ll give it to you. You might find it a little amusing.

Huh, alright then. I’ll have a read on it later. I put it away for now, eager to look at the other present that she had left me.

Only to find that it was—

“P-p-panties?!”

There was no mistake about it. That fabric inside the box—they were a girl’s panties for sure!

“T-that pinkness… n-no, it couldn’t be…” I gingerly picked them up. “No way… This… this really is Marina’s panties! The one she wore yesterday!” I spread them open. Yep, no doubt about it! The same shape, the same skimpiness, it was definitely hers! “W-w-why are they here?!” I looked back at the box. There’s another piece of parchment there! Quickly, I put the panties down and read what’s written on it.

And this is my other gift for you, Hugo. Since you seem to like them so much, I thought, "Why not give them to you?" So here they are. Freshly worn and not washed. Just like you like it, right? Use them to remember me, your big sister, alright?

P.S. Hide them behind your wardrobe. Mother never cleans up there.

I fell backwards, landing butt first on the carpet below.

“W-whaaaaaaat?!!!”

 

Chapter 13: Looming Shadows

What is this book? This can't be the real story of the Hero, can it? This is just Mira propaganda!

Such was my reaction when I finished the picture book Marina gave to me. Sure, it was just a book for kids, but the portrayal imbalance between the two heroines was so obvious that I couldn't help but laugh at it.

The two heroines were Mira and Milicis, and they were the companions of the Hero in his journey to defeat the Demon God. Oh, his name was Arthur by the way. You know, like the legendary King Arthur back in my world. What a funny coincidence.

By the way, as you would expect from these kinds of stories, they both ended up falling in love with the guy, making them love rivals to each other. Ah, the love triangle between the mage and the cleric. Now that’s a classic trope right there.

So far, I would have no problem with that. The Hero getting a harem? Totally realistic. What kind of girl wouldn’t want to bed the famous Legendary Hero? I wouldn’t be surprised if he also had dozens of princesses and female knights all wanting to have his baby. Such was the perk of being the most famous person in the world, not to mention being the literal savior and all that.

However, what I took issue with was the portrayal of Milicis. This book unabashedly displayed her as this jealous, overly clingy, pathetic girl that couldn’t function in the slightest without the Hero by her side. She was clumsly and incompetent, always bumbling around in her fights and ending up defeated, only for either Mira or the Hero to save her (really, if this were an adult doujin and not a children’s picture book, she would’ve been raped so many times, from demonic tentacles to the random bandits they met in their journey). There were no redeeming qualities in her whatsoever. She was sanctimonious, arrogant, and worst of all, she had small boobs, especially compared to Mira, which she always whined about in her monologues.

Speaking of her, she was clearly portrayed as the preferred partner to the Hero. She was intelligent and competent, and the author only emphasized that even more by giving her a pair of glasses to go with her older age and her mature body (big boobs ahoy!). She would act as his mentor and guide of sorts, and they would cooperate with each other so well, with the Saint being the clear third wheel in their relationship.

Now I understood why Marina called this book “amusing”. She too must think of it as a cheap propaganda to extol how much better the Magocracy is compared to Milicis’ followers.

Though I had to say, even if Milicis was clearly designed to be unlikeable, I still found her adorable. She always tried so hard to steal the Hero’s attention from Mira after all, and I was always weak to those kinds of girls. The drawings of her were pretty cute too.

Well, enough about that for now. I stored the book into my bookshelf. Maybe I would read it again later, just to laugh at it even more.

Eh? How about Marina’s panties, you ask? I hid it, of course, just as she had told me to.

Why don’t you just hand it over to Renee if you don’t like them? But that would mean ratting out Marina! I am not sure if Mother would like it if she starts giving me her dirty panties like this.

Isn’t that just an excuse though? Y-yeah, I suppose it is…

Oh fine! I’ll admit it! I’m a big pervert, alright?! It’s always one of my more depraved fantasies to steal a pretty girl’s worn underwear and take a deep sniff of it, just to know how she smelled. When I was younger, and could get away with it, I had to tell myself not to crawl into my parents’ room and take a sniff on Renee’s dirty pair. I had sworn to myself that I would become a new and honest man after all.

But now, I am given an even better chance to do that! Marina’s panties were in my hands and she was perfectly willing to let me do that! I-I mean, that’s what she meant by using them to remember her, right? Surely, she can’t just mean for me to carry it around like they’re a pair of handkerchiefs instead?

However, even with this golden opportunity, I couldn’t bring myself to do it fully. I only gave them a little sniff from a distance, before hurrying to put it away like she instructed. Even then, I already smelled the pleasant odor of her that I was familiar with, from when she hugged me or when we slept together. She’s already at that age where she started going through puberty after all.

She’s my big sister, goddamnit! I can’t be lewding her like this!

Funny how when you wanted to lead a straight and narrow life, you had girls throwing themselves to you like this. But when you were a pervert so desperate for a girlfriend, no one even batted an eye on you. Not that I was complaining, of course. I liked being able to befriend pretty girls like this. Aah, I can’t wait until I get older and finally be able to do that with a cute girl!

----

One month had passed since Marina’s departure. The air was getting colder as we slowly approached winter. As usual, at every single year, Father started gathering firewood to be stored and used, as when winter started, there would be barely any in the wilds. And, as a knight in charge of protecting the villagers, he would also gather enough to be given to those too poor or too weak to gather enough firewood on their own. To him, his job wasn’t just to beat bandits or monsters, but also to do as much good as he could for the village. And I genuinely admired him for that.

This year, however, he had help. Sherry, with her super strength, could lug around large logs back home with no problems whatsoever, just like Father. She too helped with the cutting process, as she could do it like it was nothing.

I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous towards them. There was nothing I could do to help them after all.

Speaking of Sherry’s strength, one day, Father decided it would be a good idea to challenge her to an armwrestling match. To my surprise, he actually managed to win against her (though not without shattering the tree trunk they were using as their table—Damn, that was scary). You might think that’s an odd thing to say, since he was a fully grown adult with large biceps and muscles after all, but the more I witnessed Sherry’s power, the more I believed that there was truly no limits to it. That match proved me wrong however.

Or so I thought, as when Mother saw what was happening, she demanded them to do a rematch. They obliged, but before they started, Mother whispered something to Sherry’s ears that I couldn’t quite catch. I believed Sherry responded with a bewildered look, but she quickly covered, closing her eyes for a few seconds before opening it back again.

And then, she won. Somehow she did. And Mother’s face turned pale as she witnessed it. She quickly left before I could ask anything of her. I asked Sherry, but she too refused to talk about it, only throwing an angry glare at me instead. I asked Father, and he just shrugged, saying that Sherry suddenly became much stronger in their second match. And of course, he quickly added that he wasn’t really trying seriously, and that if he went 100%, there was no way she could’ve won.

Sure, Dad. I could take your word for that.

Mother’s facial expression bothered me, so I went to ask her about it. But she refused to say anything. Aargh, it was frustrating! I always hated it when my family kept secrets from me like this!

The matter was quickly forgotten however, when Mother, with her face as bright as what I imagined a fairy queen would look like, announced that she was pregnant.

I was going to have another sibling.

----

Marina

When I heard the news from Hugo’s letter, I choked on the tea I was drinking.

I couldn’t believe it! Mother was pregnant?! That meant Hugo and I were going to have another sibling!

Thinking about it, it was quite the miracle that Mother wasn’t pregnant sooner. I knew how much Mother and Father had their passionate nightly sessions after all. Well, I myself preferred less siblings than more. I couldn’t imagine living with nine other siblings for example. Everyday would be noisy and hectic, and as the oldest, I wouldn’t be able to rest in the slightest.

Hmm, do I want a boy or a girl? Another cute little brother like Hugo would certainly be nice, but a cute little sister would be refreshing as well. Hmph, knowing Hugo though, he would win over her heart in no time at all. That boy… He would totally be popular with the ladies once he grew up.

“Hey, whatcha’ reading, ‘Rina?”

I groaned internally. There she was again. My new annoyance.

In front of me stood a grinning red-headed girl. She wore a black and purple witch outfit, complete with the tall pointy hat. Really, weren’t wearing such tall hats an annoyance? They said that it was tradition for female mages to wear hats like that. Well, not me though. I wasn’t going to wear any tall witch hats anytime soon.

Without hesitation, she snatched the paper away from my hands. “Ooh, what’s this? A letter? From who, hmm? Your lover?” She giggled.

“My little brother,” I replied with a clearly displeased look. “Now please return it to me.”

"Aaw, you really like him, huh? You have such a happy face when you read the letter after all! For you, Ms. Grump Grump to smile like that, wow, it's such a rare sight that I thought I was dreaming for a sec there!"

This noisy little girl was the younger sister of my tormentor. I believed Alincia was her name—I didn’t really listen when she introduced herself. She just entered the academy this year, and immediately she came to me and bugged me to no end. No doubt her big sister put it up to this. She was in her final year after all, so she might have more tasks assigned to her by her teachers. Unlike her sister however, she was just that, noisy. She didn’t really actively bully me like her older sister did.

I took out my wand. And, without a chant, I flicked it forward, flinging the letter back to my hand.

“H-hey!”

A subtle application of wind magic. I was never in the common school of thought that magic had to be all flashy and big. Little things like this actually required more control and finesse than just throwing a gust of wind at your opponent.

No wonder only a few actually attended alchemy classes. It was classified as optional by the academy, so only those that were really interested in the art would attend. Which was few, as alchemists were in general—quite unfairly, I believed—looked down upon by the mages of this kingdom. Only the non-mage folks had any respect for them, since they had to depend on them for their medicine (and other necessities), especially since there were no Milicis priests around. Ever since their last conflict a hundred years ago, all forms of Milicis worship were to be outlawed inside the magocracy’s territory. And thanks to the country having several Grandmaster-level mages around, the Holy Empire hadn’t dared invading. And the two countries being separated by sea certainly didn’t help matters either. I was pretty sure that just a single Grandmaster-level mage could sink an entire fleet of ships with their spell.

Other countries didn’t have the same luxury however, like my Marchen Kingdom, so we had to allow the Milicis devotees to open their churches, whether we wanted to or not.

Well, personally, I disagreed with the magocracy's decision to ban Milicis churches altogether. Their clerics really helped in keeping the masses healthy. Just a few years back, there was a plague that devoured this land. With so little alchemists, and no priests, so many people died from it. Or so I was told from my books.

I stood up, ignoring the shorter mage entirely. I had already finished my dinner, so there was no reason for me to stay here at the cafeteria. Not to mention that I had to start writing my own letter to be sent back home.

I gave another glance towards Alincia as I left. Of course, she still insisted on chasing me, so I kept on ignoring her. She would tire eventually.

Yep, if I’m going to have a little sister like that, I’d certainly rather have another little brother instead.

-----

For the next nine months, I kept the thought of my unborn sibling on the back of my head at all times. I simply couldn’t wait until next summer, where I could return and hold him or her in my hands. I still remembered how cute Hugo was as a baby. I suppose this was what you would call “motherly instinct”. Well, there was just something about holding a baby in your arms—something that I couldn’t quite put into words. Happiness, serenity, contentment, joy? All that seemed to apply.

Though they said that too much of that might make a girl prefer younger men though. Ever since Alincia discovered the letter, she would often mock me about how I had a “brother complex” and how I would marry him if we weren’t siblings. What a silly accusation. As his big sister, I simply loved him very much. That’s all. It’s natural for a big sister to want to hug and cuddle their little brothers, right? She wouldn’t know, of course. She didn’t have any male siblings after all. And besides...

He’s going to marry Sherry in the future. I just know it.

Well, Sherry’s a good girl. I’d rather have her as my sister-in-law than some other girl that I know nothing about. Especially when there are so many predatory girls going after younger boys these days. Yes, that’s right. I had overheard them—upperclassmen girls talking about how there were so many cute boys in the first year, and how they thought of snagging a couple and teaching them “all sorts of mature stuff”. Hmph, I didn’t even need to know what they meant by that.

Those kinds of girls were exactly the kind of girls I had to keep my dear Hugo away from. He was so cute I could just imagine their reaction if they ever saw him. Predators! All of them!

And so I wasn’t really that surprised when a rumor surfaced that one of them was practicing necromancy in secret.

Necromancy. The vilest branch of dark magic that existed out there. Like the name suggested, it was a magic art about the manipulation of corpses and the spirits of the dead. It would also be the branch of magic that you would learn if you wanted immortality. Usually humans, since we were the race with the shortest lifespan after all.

Naturally, it was completely banned in Milicis lands, with the punishment of being burned at the stake, but even here, where we could actually learn some dark magic and not be prosecuted for it, necromancy was still a forbidden art. After the Necromancer King's attempt at conquering Mira 500 years ago, which got so bad the Council at the time had to swallow their pride and ask the Holy Empire for help (after all, their priests and clerics worked really effectively against the undead), necromancy was completely outlawed in the magocracy.

Now, I wasn’t sure how the Necromancer King did that—threatening a kingdom with several Grandmaster-level magicians. I had yet to find any detailed accounts on said history unfortunately. Perhaps the books were in the Forbidden section in the library. They said that any books about necromancy would be stored there, only accessible to students with an explicit permission of a teacher. Though perhaps the special students like Merinda could take out any books they wanted. Hah, wouldn’t it be funny if she’s the necromancer.

Personally, I thought of necromancy as quite the disgusting art. There were only a few things less evil than desecrating the dead and enslaving them for your own purposes Imagine if you saw your dead father or mother as huddling, rotting corpses, controlled by some depraved dark mage that just wanted power. Even if I could actually cast dark magic, I would never in a million years touch necromancy.

...Hmm? Oh, that’s right. I hadn’t told you that I couldn’t cast any dark magic in the slightest, had I? I suppose my parents’ assumption that I was a genius that could cast any magic was wrong after all. We actually had a teacher of dark magic here in the academy and he already declared that I didn’t have any talent for it whatsoever. Of course, said teacher would never touch necromancy with a ten foot pole. He just taught less gruesome and more “proper” dark magic, like shadow magic and blood magic (though I was pretty sure the latter was still pretty gruesome).

And speaking of subjects I wasn’t good at, I was never that great in alchemy either. Thankfully, no one here really cared here if you weren’t any good in the subject. Most students only learned it to be able to make basic mana and health potions, maybe also some anti-poisons and the like, and any concoctions they needed to perform summoning pacts. No one cared for making bombs or gunpowders and the like. They said that’s more of a dwarf thing, fighting with magic tools like that, and who needed that when they could just cast fire through their spells?

I didn’t hear anything more about this rumored necromancer until a few months later, where the news broke that the student was one of the scholarship students, and that she had run away before she could be apprehended by the authorities. Not to mention how she had an affair with one of her professors. And by that, I meant her straight up giving him her body in exchange of access to the necromancy books in the library. Thanks to the special enchantments put in place on the restricted section, you couldn’t just steal or even read them willy-nilly. You would need a form of magical authorization first.

This country never believed in destroying forbidden knowledge like the Holy Empire. Instead, it would just be hidden away from the eyes and ears of the public.

Naturally, said professor was immediately fired and kicked out of the academy. Good riddance.

To my surprise however, Merinda herself came to me and told me these news with a smirk on her face. And she didn’t even bring her underlings with her.

“Ha, what a joke. Of course that balding bastard would be vile enough to lust over his students like that. No woman ever wants to be with him so he has to settle on his own student!” She declared, referring to the teacher. “She realized her skills in alchemy were useless, so she turned to the dark arts. Like the scheming whore that she was, she seduced him to give all his knowledge of the dark arts to her, including necromancy.”

Ah, if I remembered correctly, she was always beaten by her in the alchemy. Always second best below her in both written and potion-making tests. In that sense, she could be called a star student. Yet since it was just alchemy, she never became famous from it.

Hmm, don’t tell me that she gets bullied by her as well… just like me...

“Hey, wipe that look off your face! I’m still mad that you hide the fact that you can already cast a Master-level spell, you know!” She pointed at me. “What, you think you’re going to sneak behind me and pounce after my position when I don’t expect it? Hmph, what a coward. Just as you would expect from a girl from a backwards country like Marchen.”

“That’s odd,” I replied with my usual calmness. “I thought you don’t want me showing off. So I don’t.”

“S-shut up!” It was a hit. She was now clearly flustered. “Y-you dare speak back to me?" She pushed me to the wall, as she liked to do. "Let me tell you that I've mastered my second Master-level spell! That still makes me better than you! So you should just be a good girl and listen to me!" Urgh, she was loud, louder than usual. She pretty much screamed right in front of my face.

I remembered how her little sister said to me that she wasn't a bad person, and that she just wanted to be friends with me. Frankly, I couldn't see that at all.

“Hmph.” She backed off. “Anyway, I just thought I’m going to warn you.”

“Of what?”

“Why, of the accolades I will soon obtain.” She puffed her chest proudly, making her outrageous breasts bounce. “I will catch that necromancer girl and bring her to justice after all. So you better start to cry yourself to sleep as you will never surpass me after this!”

And with that, she left me, laughing like a mad witch in the process.

So she would be part of the hunting party that chases after her? Hmm, I suppose if you’re the granddaughter of one of the Council members, you can just be assigned like that.

Well, whatever. I don’t really care if she becomes even more famous than she already is. All I care about is studying magic. That’s what I’m here for after all.

Little did I know that it would be the last time I saw her alive.

Perhaps I would’ve been nicer to her if I had known otherwise.

 

Chapter 14: A New Form of Magic Fighting

Happy birthday, me! I’m seven years old now!

And so far, with the exception of some bumps here and there, my new life is going as smoothly as it could! I still remain true to my resolve seven years ago when I was born that I will live out my new life to the fullest without any regrets! I never slacked around and studied magic and swordfighting as much as I could! And I saved a girl from being treated horribly by her foster parent! And now, she's living with me and she has taken a liking on me!

Aah, I'm returning back to my prime again! My elementary school self! A top class student and popular with the girls!

Yes, I just need to keep this up until I become an adult again! Then my goal of becoming a person I won't be disgusted with will be achieved!

There's just one problem though. My swordsmanship skill is totally stagnating! Compared to Sherry, who's just climbing higher and higher, I'm just staying in one place, not getting any stronger. I have to do something!

Hmm? Isn't being a magician enough? Well, maybe. Marina certainly has given up on swordsmanship entirely, focusing her efforts entirely to become a pure mage. But if I follow her, I feel I won't be able to keep with her either. She's an absolute genius in the subject after all.

I just don't want to be left behind again by my siblings, just like in my old life…

Not to mention that if Sherry is really going to be my wife in the future, I wouldn’t want to be a weak husband who has to rely on her for my protection and safety. I want it to be the other way around, with me being able to protect her like a cool husband would. Father and Mother are the perfect example. Mother is a cleric, so Father, as a swordsman, would have to protect her at all times like her knight in shining armor. But if I’m the mage and she the swordswoman, I will be the one that gets protected by her. I know it’s selfish, but goddamnit I want to be cool in front of my (future) wife.

And so I decided. I had to develop my own style of fighting. Something that Father couldn’t teach to me.

The idea started out simple. What if I combined my magic with my swordfighting? Could I enhance both, with one discipline covering for the weaknesses of the others?

First test. I would throw Beginner and Intermediate-level magic while I used my sword at the same time.

----

“Sparring?” Father raised her eyebrows. “You against Sherry?”

“Y-yeah, I think it can be good training. For both of us.” I smiled back nervously.

We were having our usual sword training sessions. After we did our warming ups, I immediately suggested my idea to Father.

Yes, I was going to use Sherry as my guinea pig. If I won, then I would declare my idea to be a successful one.

“...No, you can’t.”

“H-huh, w-why?”

“She’s too strong for you, son. None of you would gain anything by sparring against each other,” he said to me with a sad look. Damn you, Dad! No need to pity me that much!

“B-but I won’t just be using my sword! I would also use my magic!”

“Magic?” He raised his eyebrows again. “You mean, you would cast magic as you fight with your sword? That’s… I never saw any mages doing that. They would use their staves, not swords. Myrilla would do that if an enemy ever gets too close, just to put a distance between them.”

“Myrilla?” I asked with a curious look. I never heard of that name before.

“Oh, she’s just a mage I used to party with.”

Wait, what’s with that look? He’s avoiding my eyes as he said it. Don’t tell me that she's her ex or something! Does Mother know?

“Hey, don’t give me that look,” he immediately protested. “I never cheated on your mother, you know. If I did, well, I’ll be out of here for sure.” He gave a grim smile.

...Yeah, I could imagine that. Whew, she’s scary when she’s mad.

Though realistically speaking, she would be the one to leave the house, as women didn’t really have any right to own property back in the medieval era. I dunno whether this fantasy world really followed the same rule though. I imagined if it’s a family of two adventurers, who got the house and children would just be decided in combat, most likely to the death. A fantasy world tends to be a world where strength matters the most after all.

I gulped. I really wouldn’t want to see Father and Mother fighting like that. That would break my heart for sure. Father, please tell me that you really are not a cheater.

“Enough of that.” He suddenly threw a wooden sword at me, which I caught promptly in mid-air. Hey, my reflex had gotten better after all from my training. “If you really want to fight, then fight. You bring your wand?” I nodded. “Good. Then Sherry, go easy on him.”

I looked towards her. She was already nine years old longer than I had been seven, as her birthday was earlier than mine around a month or so. Thanks to Mother giving her lots of nutritious food, I could see her being taller and less thin than her old self. Well, her boobs were still nonexistent though, and I was still taller than her. I doubted that she would ever get taller than me, which I liked, as short girls looked cute to me. I loved how they had to stand on their toes to kiss their taller partner. Not that tall girls were bad, oh no. Tall girls on the other hand allowed the shorter men to just bury their face inside their large milk jugs that they usually had.

Well, enough about my preferences. I needed to get ready for the fight. I took out my wand and held it in my left hand. Thankfully, I was born ambidextrous, unlike my old right-hand-only self, so I could easily cast magic and wield a sword with both hands.

"Hey, are you sure about this?" Sherry suddenly spoke with a concerned look on her face. "When I fight, I still don't have good control of my strength, you know. I… don't want to hurt you…" She looked down. Oh, Goddamnit. With that that kind of melancholic expression, I just knew that she would definitely blame herself terribly if she hurt me in any way shape or form. And I certainly wouldn’t want that!

Well, all the more reason to not lose to her, right?

I readied myself, going into an evasive stance right away. I knew that I would be the one taking the defensive role in this match-up. She would outclass me in both strength and speed. The only advantage I had was my longer range.

“Sherry, remember what I taught you before! About fighting a mage!” Father shouted.

W-wait, Father had taught her that. I-I wasn’t informed of this!

“In three… two… one… begin!”

It was too late to protest. The match had begun.

And Sherry, well, she didn’t hesitate. She launched herself right towards me with her wooden sword raised.

“F-Fireball!”

I immediately responded by blasting my basic fire spell right towards her. But to my surprise, instead of opting to dodge, she simply slashed my fireball, dispelling it like it was nothing.

H-hey, w-what the hell was that? That’s a wooden sword! How could she do that and not burn it in the process?

Combined with my surprise and her speed, it was too late for me to devise my next move. Before I knew it, her sword was already on my neck.

I had lost. Didn’t even take her 10 seconds to do so.

“Well done, Sherry, well done!” Father clapped. “That’s how you deal with a mage! You close up on them and bash them straight up! Using your sword, you can just cut through any low-level spells they sent at you, as they would not have any time to chant the bigger ones.”

She retreated her sword. Once again, she gave me that worried look of hers.

“And you, Hugo. You didn’t expect her to just cut through your fireball like that, did you?” He grinned. Gah, now I’m starting to get angry. “In the hands of a strong swordsman, even a stick of wood could pierce steel.”

I guess since this is a fantasy world, statements like that could actually make sense. But still, was she able to do that just because of her strength? Or was there something more about swordsmanship that Father wasn’t telling?

Or maybe he just doesn’t know. The way he teaches… it’s really… rudimentary and simple. Easy to understand, but there’s nothing refined to it, you know. I know a little about kendo from my old life and it’s far fancier than what he teaches to us.

...Hold on. Could it be that it’s a form of magic as well? Even though it’s done by swinging your sword around, who said that magic couldn’t take that from? Is magic exclusive to magicians with their wands and staves?

...I think I should ask Mother about this. Maybe she’ll know something Father doesn’t. Wouldn’t get my hopes up though. She’s just a cleric after all.

And so ended my first spar with Sherry. It was a total and complete loss.

----

Ever since Mother was pregnant, Father insisted that she should stop working so hard and take more rest, even though she herself didn’t want to. But she refused to make Sherry take most of her work. Like a good mother, she didn’t want to make her feel like she was being used as a servant anymore. And so, as a compromise, Father decided to hire a girl from the nearby village to be a temporary live-in maid from the village to help with the chores. She was well-compensated, of course, with a salary that beat any work she could do in the village. Father also counted on her to help with delivering the child, once that day came.

Wow, she’s cute!

Such was my first impression when I saw her arriving with Father. She was indeed young, perhaps around seventeen or eighteen of age. No more than twenty, certainly. She had long, brown hair that reached down to her waist, along with a pair of yellow-brown eyes. And she arrived already wearing a maid uniform too. Combined with her charming, bright smile, I could already tell that she would be a welcome addition to our family for sure.

Not to mention those big boobs as well!

“Hello! I’m Mary! I’ll be working here from now on!” She bowed, making her breasts jiggle.

Uh oh, Mother’s expression—her smile wasn’t completely genuine, I could tell, and her eyes were drawn towards the maid girl’s breasts. Could this be the beginning of a war of boobs? But Mother's breasts were clearly bigger though.

"Thank you, Mary. I'm glad that you're willing to work for our family.” Mother bowed as well. And as expected, her boob jiggle easily overpowered the maid's.

"A-ah, please don't bow, Madame! The pleasure is all mine!" The girl bowed again, her breasts jiggling yet again.

I glanced towards Alan. As expected, he was paying full attention towards the "battle" that was going on. Hey, Father. Aren't you staring too much?

And so from that day on, we had another person living with our little family.

----

That night, I was just relaxing, resting myself in my room when Sherry entered, wielding a broom and wearing her maid uniform. As usual, she was going to clean my room. She usually did it once a week, and always while wearing said clothing. I couldn’t help but think that me saying how cute she looked in it had a part on it.

No, that’s definitely what happened. She would sulk if I didn’t watch her as she did her work after all.

“I-I’m going to clean the room now, y-young Master.” How cute! Even though she had been doing this for months, she still went all blushy everytime.

I couldn’t help but be bothered by the Young Master part however.

“Hey, umm, don’t you think that you can drop that Young Master stuff? Now that we actually have a proper maid here, it just feels… well, weird, especially since she too calls me by that.” I scratched the back of my head, smiling nervously towards her.

And then her face quickly turned into shock, before turning into sadness, and then followed by anger.

“S-so, now that Mary is here, I-I’m not good enough, huh?!” She yelled. “You want your maids to be all pretty and big-chested like her, huh?!”

“W-wait, that’s not what I mean!” I panicked, quickly correcting her. “I-it’s just that… I-I don’t want to see you as a servant as well. Mary is one, but you, Sherry—you are family. And every time you call me Young Master like that, I can’t help but feel that you’re lowering yourself to her level…” Sherry acting as my maid was certainly really adorable and cute. But my conscience always told me that it was wrong to make her do that. I might be a pervert, but I was still a pervert with some moral compass.

Her anger subsided, and she looked away from me. “Oh… Oh, Hugo, I-I’m so sorry… I-I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that… M-my temper… I let it get the better of me yet again…" She bit her lip, looking back at me. Goddamnit, her eyes were tearing up. I had to comfort her right away!

"Hey, don't feel bad! I think… I think your temper is also part of your charm, you know." God, I could already tell that my face was reddening. "I… I always find that spirited girls are more interesting than timid ones." That's not entirely true though. I liked quiet, timid girls as well. In fact, I liked all sorts of girls, at least fictional ones. I was always intimidated by real 3D girls after all, as pathetic as that might sound. And if I was actually one of those harem protagonists, I would perfectly be willing to woo all sorts and types of girls to be my lovers. Well, if jealousy wasn't a thing in the real world, anyways. I wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of any girls that could love my pathetic self. I would always cherish them and be the best husband to them that I could be. I swore to that.

“R-really?” She responded to my compliment with the cutest shy blush I had ever seen.

“Yes, really!” I smiled back, putting my hands on her shoulders. “So don’t be so hard on yourself, Sherry. You can get angry once in a while. Anyone does.”

“Y-you never get angry though…”

“Well…” She’s right. I did get annoyed multiple times, but I was never as angry as she was. “I get really angry whenever I see anyone tease and bully you, calling you a demon and all that. Though with you scaring them off, I guess I don't need to be worried, huh, hehe." I gave a little joke at the end, just so I wouldn't even be more embarrassed by my cliched and cheesy line. I wasn't really lying though. I did indeed get angry when those little brats came after her cruelly like that. It reminded me of my own dark past after all. So I thought it would be alright for me to give those words to her, even though it made me sound like those goody-goody harem protagonists that no one really liked.

She gave a little huff at my joke. But then, she looked away and mumbled, "T-thank you… You really are nice, Hugo…"

And then, she turned back and immediately gave me a kiss on the cheeks. "T-there… for always being there for me… A-and if you would, p-please protect me more in the future..."

She then ran away, leaving me as red as she was.

I touched the cheek she just kissed. I didn't wash my face for a while afterwards.

----

Thanks to Sherry's night visit, I was completely invigorated! Aah, I want to be stronger after all! Strong enough to protect her, just like she wants!

And so I racked my brain, trying to find a better way to use my magic in combat. I determined that I couldn’t just use it in a straightforward manner. Even if I used my Advanced level magic, which I could use without chanting, I still needed to concentrate. And that would give an opening for her to close the gap between us. I would risk hitting myself as well, with how powerful those spells were. Intermediate? I had a feeling that they would just be dispelled by Sherry—the same way as she dispelled my Fireball.

Hmm, how about this? Maybe I should use my magic in a less straightforward manner. Not just to attack. Maybe there were some useful utilities I could gain from them, if I could use them in a more creative manner.

First idea. Wind Step. I would generate a burst of wind under my feet, pushing me to the direction I wanted to go.

I immediately tried it outside. Holding both my wand and my sword, simulating how I would be in combat, I took a deep breath. Naturally, I was nervous. What if I did it wrong and sprained my ankle?

Left. I sidestepped. And just as I did, I conjured a small burst of wind under the soles of my shoes.

“W-whoaaa!”

I was immediately sent flying ten meters away, landing roughly on my left shoulder. Urgh, that hurt! Thankfully, however, I didn’t seem to break anything.

Too much power. I need to control it better.

And so began my training. I fell over and over again, making scratches and bruises all over my body. But I didn’t care. I wanted to do this! And I wouldn’t give up until I could! And besides, no matter how badly I got wounded, Mother would always be able to heal me afterwards! My only obstacle was myself—my laziness and my fear of pain. And I would overcome it! Not just for Sherry, but also for myself!

And so, for the first time in my life, I worked hard on something entirely by my own. This time, I didn’t have Marina or Father to guide and encourage me.

My own will and spirit. That was all that I had.