â...Why did things turn this way?â Einâs dissatisfied voice could be heard.
âHehe, sorry, but it seems that luck is at our side!â I happily smiled. I could see our teamâs victory flag so close!
Luca, Kiri, and I were thinking of the same thing at this momentâthat was, to focus our attacks to Ein!
Alt-nii seemed to notice this as he tried to raise a [Void] barrier to protect Ein. If that was how he was going to play it, then we should probably go and take him out first before easily taking out Ein.
â.........â
Surprisingly, Ein seemed to be looking over the current situation while calmly thinking.
âOh well, time to try
out...,â he muttered before he shifted his gaze towards Alt-nii.
âBig Bro Alt, itâs time to end this!â
...Eh?
I was surprised. Did he want to admit defeat this instant?
I thought he was one persistent kid. Was he actually more of a realist?
âWhat, Ein, I want to fight until the end, not surrendering!â Alt-nii protested.
âI didnât mean that!â Ein objected back.
âThen, what are you trying to propose?â
âI mean, letâs end this in our victory!â
â...How are you going to do that?â I was taken aback by Einâs overwhelming confidence.
âBig Bro Alt, try to recite what Iâm about to say!â Ein suddenly said.
âHuh? Why?â
âJust do it, okay?!â
â...Sure, then...,â Alt-nii might think that Einâs idea might be worth it to try, as he could see that victory wasnât leaning on his team currently.
âEine, dear, you couldnât be...,â Nicole gasped, she seemed to have an idea what Ein was about to do. Well, Ein is her son after all!
âOkay, listen carefully and recite it well!â Ein took a deep breath before reciting something akin to a spell slowly as Alt-nii recited them after Ein...
[Meol, ôs orgilde spêd, [Bahamuth], :/sYAlE yor/:,--]
Ein began to recite something weird.
âRu?!â Rurune let out a surprised voice.
âHuh, [Bahamuth]-samaâs name was recited there?!â Even Carbuncle was surprised.
...I wonder what was that for?
âEine, you canât be serious!â Nicole sounded a bit agitated.
No matter what it might be, no matter if I was so curious, I couldnât let the enemy win, not in this close situation!
I looked at Luca and Kiri. It seemed like we could communicate via eye contact well in this situation, as we nodded at one another. We then rushed to Alt-nii to hinder him from doing what Ein instructed him.
Alt-nii was a sharp person who noticed our intention right away. He quickly dodged our attacks and raised a [Void] barrier on himself.
...Not only that, he then proceeded on creating illusions of himself!!
He really went full power...?
âEin, repeat that again! Thereâs nothing to lose, I guess, so letâs bet on your idea!â Alt-nii and his shadows shouted...
Which one is the real Alt-nii? I gotta figure it out before he finishes doing the reciting or whatever!
âEine, drop the idea, wonât you?â Nicoleâs warning voice resounded, but Ein didnât seem to obey his mother, as he quickly recited everythingâfollowed by Alt-nii.
[Meol, ôs orgilde spêd, [Bahamuth], :/sYAlE yor/:, yfel besêcan êow, yeerh zacta tyy maarr itt sss, sûcan ðone as drýlic ellencræft ð¯ærût mîn hettend lîc êac sweðrian sîn hrêaw earm! Yfel fordêman blôtung mîn cyneðrymm ufan bewrixlâan, forglendrâan mîn misboren I!]
Sadly, both Ein and Alt-nii quickly recited them all in a hurry...
And the moment after Alt-nii finished reciting it (although he stuttered at some parts)...
I suddenly felt my body was depleted of mana, and I felt that my strength escaped from my body!
As I looked at my teammatesâ expressions, I could tell that they were also feeling the same sensation.
We were powerless.
At the same time, I saw Alt-niiâs shadows or his illusion was also called off.
Did he call his illusion off because he was done reciting whatever it was?
âNow, go and destroy Big Sister Irisâ crystal pendant!â Ein cheered as he saw that whatever he was thinking of doing actually succeeded.
â...Ein... there is another problem...,â Alt-niiâs voice was unexpectedly weak.
âNn?â Ein tilted his head.
â...I felt very fatigued as well...,â Alt-nii said in a weak voice.
âEeh?! The effect was that extreme?!â Ein was surprised.
After he scratched his head for a bit, he suddenly said, âIt canât be helped. Then, Iâll be the one to end the match~!â
...Thereafter, Ein grabbed Kiriâs sword that was lying there and leisurely stabbed it to our crystal brooches, and lastly, Irisâ crystal pendant...
We tried to move our bodies to prevent that from happening, but since there was no strength at all in our bodies, our struggles ended up meaningless...
And so, the match had a complete turnabout and ended up in a very unexpected way...
Nicole was gasping and she looked a bit troubled at the sudden turn of events...
***
âIâm sorry!â
Nicole clapped her hands together as she bowed in front of us. She then forced Ein to bow down in apology as well.
After the match was over, Mom healed all of us.
âItâs fine, Nicole-san. Iâm sure Ein didnât mean anything bad,â Mom calmly answered.
âW-whatâs with that, anyway?â I couldnât contain my curiosity.
âHey, little Ein, you even mentioned our godâBahamuth. Whatâs with that spell?â Carbuncle raised her eyebrows.
âThat is... well...,â Nicole was trying to explain things on her sonâs behalf.
âSo... you know that there are some classified books safeguarded by the Loera clan, right? ...So, Eine here read some of the ancient books out of curiosity and seemed to take an interest on a certain spell... Plus the fact that thereâs a living [Void] user... So he kinda went off with it and tried to put the ancient spell in action...â
âMum knows me so well!â Ein smiled without any trace of guilt.
Nicole lightly flicked Einâs forehead.
âOuch, Mum! Come on, itâs nothing dangerous, right?â
â...Youâll have another special lecture time, okay, dear Eine?â
â....Ye~s....,â Ein reluctantly bowed.
On the other side...
â...Wait, what?!â I was surprised by Nicoleâs information.
Sure, I already got the gist that the Loera clanâa clan of scholars had an access to classified knowledge or ancient knowledge, but I didnât expect it to be like this.
And to think that Ein could remember something like that...?!
âYes... Ophelia-san might have known it already, but there are books that contain ancient spells and so on, stored in the Loeraâs classified library... What Eine asked Altaire to recite was one of themâa spell depicted in an ancient book to be used by [Void] magic user. Itâs the type of spell used to offer your [Void] power in exchange to deplete the enemy of their power, especially of their magical power," Nicole elaborated further.
âBut I didnât expect it to deplete Big Brother Altâs power as well!â Ein bitterly said.
âWell, it offers the [Void] userâs power, and I guess the power taken was tremendous enough to make Altaire feel fatigued,â Nicole lightly hit Einâs head.
âAnd did I hear it wrong or was our god, the dragon god, Bahamuth-sama, mentioned?â Carbuncle asked.
âYes... youâre right. Bahamuthâthe dragon godâis well-known as the god of power. The [Void] magic user is offering their power to Bahamuth in exchange for the spellâs effect,â Nicole answered again.
â...Thatâs interesting,â Carbuncle said.
âNicole-san, Nicole-san! How did Ein memorize that complicated spell?â I asked. He couldnât be memorizing the spell so hardly in order to wait for this chance to ask Alt-nii to try it out, right?
âWell... Okay, I guess itâs fine to tell you guys this... Itâs not a top secret after all. Itâs actually the [Oracle] bestowed to some members of the [Loera] clan. We like to call this blessing as [Hypermind]. To put it simply, letâs just say for now that Eine and I here have perfect memory,â Nicole dropped a bomb to us.
No wonder Ein could remember and recite the whole spell flawlessly!
No wonder Nicole could remember the things from the olden days so perfectly, without any doubt!
...and no wonder that members of Loera clan excel so much in academics!
Thatâs basically a very great cheat!!!
âEhehe,â Ein smiled happily. His face seemed to say, âAm I amazing?â
Really, [intelligence runs in blood] applies for the Loera clan, then.
âItâs nice to be a member of the Loera clan, then!â Iris said in amazement.
âI wonât deny that! However, not all possess this [Oracle], and the power varies as well,â Nicole explained even further.
In Ein and Nicoleâs case, Iâd say that their [Hypermind]âs power can be said as quite high?
I think so...
And is that all there is to [Hypermind]? Or just like the royal familyâs [Oracle] and Hartmann familyâs [Oracle], there are still some secrets that can only be told within the family?
...For now, their explanation of Loera familyâs [Oracle] sufficed, though...
After a moment of silent, Mom suddenly clapped once.
âOkay, now that itâs clear, I have something I need to talk about, especially with Altaire!â
Alt-nii snapped out of his daze after processing the information regarding the Loera clan.
âWhat is it, Mom?â
âHmm... okay, Lyra, Altaire, and... Rurune. All of you follow me,â Mom said as she led us away from the rest of people who were still talking about what just happened, and the revelation before. Dad wanted to follow us as well, but Mom signaled that he should stay there with the guests.
âAltaire, what happened back then? You seemed to be surprised as you emitted [Void] magic power to Rurune?â
âThat... right! Mom, something weird happened! My body just moved by itself at that time! Even though I was about to put my power to something else...!â Alt-nii described the whole confusing event.
âAnd... and! I was worried that the [Void] magic might do Rurune harm, but she was surprisingly fine after that!â Alt-nii continued his report.
â...We can conclude that Rurune is a magical beast that is capable of [Void] magic, then. Remember when she dispelled Lyraâs freezing magic from Harvey?â
âAh... yes, I remember!â I chimed in as well.
âOkay, now that itâs solved... Letâs focus on the matter of Altaireâs body moving on its own,â Mom said as she shifted her serious gaze at Rurune, who was floating leisurely beside Alt-nii.
âYes, Mom! Do you have an idea whatâs going on?â Alt-nii asked.
Mom nodded. Her expression was so serious that I was taken aback for a while...
Then, her next words surprised me.
âIt seems that the Familiar contract you made with Rurune... is a [Master-Servant Contract]. I think Rurune was the one who commanded Altaire to do so, to free her from the situation that irritated her... In other words,â Mom sighed.
âCongratulations, son, Rurune is your Familiar-Master, and youâre her underling...,â Mom put her hand on her forehead, as if she was feeling dizzy. Nah, Iâm sure she is feeling dizzy!!
â....WHAT?!â Alt-nii exclaimed in surprise.
âEeeeh? No way!!â I quickly shifted my gaze towards Rurune.
In response to all of us looking at her with dreadful expressions and disbelief, Rurune stared back at us with her ever-innocent face, before she finally growled cheerfully, âRuru~!â«â
Thus, my thought of Rurune as the âcute little beastâ collapsed. With this very unexpected revelation, I began to question my whole view of the world.
***
After that, we leisurely spent our time by chatting and enjoying the tea (plus cakes!). Everyone then began to pack up to go back before the sun set, before it got too dark...
âAre you sure you donât want to stay the night?â I asked Iris and Carbuncle.
âWell, weâre having school again tomorrow, so why bother? Our permissions were only to go outside today,â Carbuncle clarified.
âT-thanks for the offer, Lyra!â Iris blushed a little.
â...Sigh... I was the first one to get ousted...,â Harvey was still a bit dejected... Reality began to hit him after the whole shocking revelation happened.
âDonât mind it, Harvey! Weâve still got a long way to go!â Alt-nii slapped Harveyâs back as if to give him his optimism.
âI must be very uncool... And the opponents were younger than me... Haaah...,â Harvey sighed.
âUhm... I donât think so! I think youâre cool, Harvey!â Iris tried her best to cheer Harvey up.
âYup, yup, even if our opponents are younger, theyâre still abnormal kids!â Clavis tried to cheer Harvey as well as he circled his arm at Harveyâs shoulders.
âReally?â Harvey seemed to be a little bit more cheerful than before.
â...Who are you calling abnormal?â I realized Clavisâ words and questioned it, staring at Clavis. (¬_¬)
â...Errr, no, Lyra, you get it all wrong...,â Clavis must be feeling guilty, with his tail curling between his legs...
âOkay, shall we get back now?â Carbuncle asked Iris and Harvey.
âWhy the hurry?â Harvey asked, surprised that Carbuncle seemed to want to rush back at the dorm.
âI want to nap,â Carbuncle shortly answered, as if it was natural.
â...â
âTo return faster, shall I carry you on my back?â Carbuncle suddenly asked.
âHuh? How...?â Harvey was confused at first, but he then recalled that Carbuncle was a dragon and... his face turned pale.
Carbuncle smirked.
âK-Kuu... Itâs not good to scare people with your dragon form, right?â Iris tried to stop Carbuncle from executing her plan.
âHee... Itâs way faster and more convenient,â Carbuncle pouted.
She then locked eyes with me and asked for my opinion, âRight, Lyr?â
âEh? Ah, I want to see your dragon form, indeed...,â I reflexively expressed my honest thoughtâregretting it later.
âSee?â Carbuncle smirked.
âWow, weâre going to see a real dragon?!â Einâs eyes turned all sparkly again.
âD-dragon?â Leticia tilted her head.
âNo. Letâs not do that. It will cause an uproar.â
Luckily, Dad rejected the whole notion before Carbuncle could do anything.
âEeeh...,â Carbuncleâs face turned -`д´-
âWhy donât you all come along with me and Eine? I can escort you to the nearby teleportation service. Weâre also going back using it, after all,â Nicole suddenly proposed.
âE-eh? Teleportation service, b-but...,â Iris timidly tried to reject.
âMy treat,â Nicole insisted.
âW-would that be okay?â Harvey hesitated as well.
âThanks, then!â The shameless dragon readily accepted her proposal.
âNo problem, I want to treat Eineâs friends sometimes. Come to our house next time, okay? You all can stay the night,â Nicole said, while looking over at all of us, indicating that she was inviting us all.
Thus, it was decided that Carbuncle, Iris, and Harvey would be coming along with Ein and Nicole to the teleportation service.
âItâs also time for us to go back,â Luca said.
âEeeh? Already?â Leti protested.
âAh, right, I have to go back with Father as well,â Kiri said. He was now used to calling his stepfather/former uncle with âFatherâ. He stuttered a lot at first, not used to the sudden change at all.
âLyra-neeeee,â Leti behaved like a spoiled child she was, as she extended her arms to hug me.
Of course, I extended my arms as well to hug her and spoil her!!
âSee you next time, Leti!!â I nudged my cheek to Letiâs cheek.
âNot fair, me too, Big Sis!â The little brother figure demanded attention as well.
âThere, there,â So I patted this troublesome little brother figure.
âEeeh, not fair! Why are you treating me differently from Leti?!â Ein pouted, as he looked at Leti with a competitive stare.
â...â
I was speechless.
After that, we sent everyone off.
The house became silent in an instant.
As we were leisurely spending time in wait for dinner time...
âRurune... How could you...â
My big brother, who was acting all cheerful back when he cheered his friend up, peeled his acting and showed his true heart.
Yep, he was still heartbroken after knowing that Rurune forced the [Master-Servant Contract] on him. To put it harshly, Rurune was the [Master], and Alt-nii was the [Servant].
That was how Rurune could one-sidedly draw Alt-niiâs [Void] power to her own convenience.
âRururu~,â Rurune didnât show the slightest bit of guilt or remorse, adding to Alt-niiâs depression.
âT-there, there, Alt-nii...,â I patted Alt-niiâs back in hope to cheer him up a bit.
âWell, Altaire, donât be so sad. You can always train yourself to get stronger and reverse the contract, or at least turn it into the equal partner contract,â Mom gave Alt-nii a solution I didnât know of.
âEh, we can do that?â Alt-nii asked, hope returned to his eyes.
âYes, definitely. You just have to become stronger than the other party and try to reverse the contract,â Mom said.
âT-then, Iâll try now!â Alt-nii closed his eyes and focused on feeling something... feeling the contract?
But after a while, Alt-nii sighed, âNothing happened. I couldnât seem to change anything.â
â...That means Rurune possesses power stronger than you...,â Mom muttered while still contemplating.
She then moved closer to Rurune and patted her head, âNow, youâre one mysterious fellow.â
âRuru~,â Rurune happily enjoyed Momâs pat.
âJust what are you?â Mom asked.
âRuru~!â
âCould you really be the same magical beast who accompanied Her Highness Remillia-sama back then?â Mom pondered.
âRu, ru, ruuu?â Rurune only nibbed her claws.
âBut there are still differences... and you had only just been born...,â Mom continued to ponder.
âMom, canât you check her again?â Alt-nii asked in his frustration.
âWell, Iâll try then. You should come along as well,â Mom patted Alt-niiâs head.
âMn!â Alt-nii nodded. He seemed to want to change his current condition no matter what.
...Well, thatâs understandable.
âNow, thatâs really surprising,â Dad finally opened his mouth.
âDad, you canât believe it too, can you?â Alt-nii nagged to Dad this time.
âYeah, itâs totally unexpected.â
âIâm also curious about Rurune,â Mom said.
âItâs fine to be curious. You have always been like that, right? But donât get the usual tunnel vision,â Dad said as he gently caressed Momâs cheek.
Whoaa--! I still couldnât really get used to Dad and Momâs showing affection at times.
âAnyway, Lyra,â Dad suddenly shifted his gaze at me before he turned to Alt-nii as well, âAnd Alt.â
ââYes?ââ Alt-nii and I replied at the same time.
âEspecially Lyra... Do you like having both Leti and Ein looking up to you like that?â
âEh? Well, theyâre cute, and I donât mind!â
âThen... would you want a little brother or a little sister?â
â...!!â
I was surprised at Dadâs sudden questioning!
âY-yes, I donât mind, Dad!â I quickly said, before shifting my gaze at Mom.
Mom only smiled awkwardly.
âThen I want a little brother this time, Dad!â Alt-nii requested.
âWell, thatâs...,â Dad seemed a little troubled.
âI donât mind either!â I stated my opinion.
âAlright, alright, letâs not think too far ahead now. It should be dinner time soon, letâs go,â Mom interrupted as she began to walk to the dining room, followed by Dad and Alt-nii.
I silently clenched my fist and raised it up.
In any case, I wasnât your ordinary child. I wouldnât feel jealous of my new sibling and act all childish...
Oh, well, I admit I feel a little bit uneasy, thinking about how I might receive less affection or attention from my family...
I guess, my bad experience as Reinst when I had a little brother was still ingrained deep inside.
But... Iâm now a member of the warm Hartmann family.
Surely things wouldnât be as bad as that... Right?
I tried imagining a little sibling that was like the cute Leticia or Ein who was so attached to me.
Hmm, perhaps I might receive more love from them instead?
Anyway, just... good luck, Dad, Mom!
Iâll be looking forward to the good news~!
Well, people often say that children are blessings from god, so I guess itâs also up to the godâs decision?
......Iâm still unsure if the spectre of light I encountered back then is really a god, though... Despite âtheyâ really reincarnated me like this.
Thanks for reading and don't hesitate to comment!
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