Tsuare greeted her sister with a smile. "Ninya, how was it?" She stopped washing the dishes and focused on Ninya—she didn't seem stressed, so that was good. "How did it go?"

  "I learned to weave mana." Ninya dropped down into a seat and covered her face.

  "Really?" Tsuare looked at her sister's exhausted state and couldn't help but smile. Ninya wasn't tired because she was zy—not at all. "That sounds interesting. Can you tell me more?"

  "It's not as fun as it sounds," Ninya muttered. "Weaving mana, learning spells... It feels like I've been doing it all wrong. There's so much more to magic than just reading about it in books."

  Tsuare finished what she was doing and sat down next to her sister. She id a hand on Ninya's shoulder in comfort. "I'm here to listen if you want to talk."

  Tsuare waited for a reply, but she got nothing. She hummed. "What will cheer up Ninya? Something to eat?"

  "Tsuare, can you tell me if I'm still alive?"

  Tsuare rolled her eyes and pinched her sister on the arm, causing Ninya to flinch, drop the book she had pced on top of her head, and gre at her older sister.

  Tsuare giggled. "Well, do you feel dead?"

  Ninya's hand crackled with electricity. She cracked her knuckles threateningly and blew out her tongue at her. "I'm stronger than you now."

  "Nope~" Tsuare sing-songed. She didn't mention the fact that Ninya had managed to learn a spell. Was that what she was so hung up on? That she had learned a spell in a single day under Lord Antikythera, while she had stagnated when learning on her own?

  Tsuare prepared dinner for her sister. Her mind went back to the lightning crawling all over Ninya's palms earlier. She kept remembering it as she cooked porridge and chopped vegetables. That was the same spell Lord Antikythera had used on Lord Carpef.

  Come to think of it, what happened to him?

  Tsuare didn't exactly feel pity for the man, knowing his reputation and what he had been about to do to her, but...

  Where did Lord Carpef go after encountering Lord Antikythera? Did the Eight Fingers take him out? Was Lord Antikythera part of such a cruel organization? Well, no—Tsuare had heard that he offered protection against the Eight Fingers, so he wasn't part of their group. Then why did he want the vilge to continue growing White Stalks?

  None of it made sense, and perhaps it was better if she didn't dig.

  Right now, she felt satisfied that her sister was learning magic and that she was safe. That everyone was safe.

  "Here, Ninya." Tsuare pced a bowl of porridge and a pte of steamed potatoes and cut carrots in front of her sister. "Eat dinner."

  For once, Ninya didn’t compin as she ate.

  Tsuare raised an eyebrow at that. Had Lord Antikythera told her sister to start eating properly or something?

  Tsuare caught Ninya gring at her. "What?"

  "Why are you smiling?" Her sister asked with a scowl. "Is something funny?"

  "No, I'm just happy," Tsuare said. "Do you want to take a bath, Ninya?"

  Her sister silently nodded.

  "I'll prepare a bath for you, don't worry."

  Tsuare came back to find Ninya reading an entry in that tome of hers. Tsuare had always assumed it was a diary, but apparently not. Ninya just kept records of the spells she learned and how they felt—which, to Tsuare, sounded like a diary, but what did she know? She wasn’t literate.

  Every time she came back from the well, Ninya was in her spot, reading and reviewing the pages she had written down. She was so focused that she almost fell when Tsuare came up to her.

  "What? It is?" Ninya looked around. "How long have I been...?"

  "Not for long." Tsuare shook her head, lying.

  "By the way," she decided to start a conversation with her sister as she took her to the bathroom, "have you seen what Lord Carpef's old house turned into? Lord Antikythera works quickly, huh? I wonder if he lives there now."

  "It's not him, it's a friend of his." Ninya scoffed at her sister. "Some kind of noblewoman who will watch over us all and tell us how to farm the White Stalks."

  "Really?" Tsuare asked. Finally, her sister was talking. "Have you seen her?"

  "Nope." Ninya lowered herself into the water, and Tsuare shortly followed. "I don't know what she looks like, but we'll meet her tomorrow or something." Ninya’s shrug told Tsuare her sister was unsure if that would even happen. "I hope she's nice if we do meet her, though."

  "I hope so too." Tsuare imitated her sister's smile. "You said she's a friend of Lord Antikythera? Is she also made of metal? I haven't heard of Automatons before, but if lizardmen exist, then maybe?"

  "I don't think she's made of metal. Lord Antikythera didn't say anything when I asked. Just that I needed to respect her." Ninya’s reply didn’t sound all that expectant. Was Tsuare mistaken? She thought Ninya wanted to learn from this newcomer as well.

  "Does she have magic?"

  "I was told that everyone Lord Antikythera knew had magic—well, almost everyone," Ninya answered. "But we won’t meet the ones who don’t have magic since they prefer to stay inside Lord Antikythera’s home to clean it or something? I think those guys are maids."

  "Hmmm..." Tsuare nodded. That made sense. "You think you can see Lord Antikythera’s home eventually? I would like to see it, I think. Maybe everything there is made of metal, just like him? What kind of pce would an Automaton live in, anyway?"

  "No idea." Ninya looked at her hand. "You know, he said he runs on electricity—that's what he calls lightning—but better? I didn’t really get it. Everything he says confuses me, honestly. It’s only because of my talent that I understand some of it."

  "Better lightning, huh? That sounds pretty normal to me!"

  Tsuare grinned when her sister gave her a dry look.

  "It’s true!"

  "Nope." Ninya shook her head. "It’s wrong. Also, I know you want to ask about my new spell."

  "Awww, did I make it obvious?" Tsuare pyed along. She didn’t want to ruin her sister's night by being too overtly curious about the spell, but if Ninya wanted to brag about it, then who was she to compin? Learning about magic sounded fun!

  "Yes, yes, you did!" Ninya said smugly. "Do you know what it's called?"

  "I do!" Tsuare replied with equal excitement as her sister’s. "What is it called?"

  "[Electro Burst]! It's apparently supposed to be a pretty strong spell that only a Tier Two mage can use, but since I have a unique talent, Lord Antikythera told me that I learned it regardless of whether I cked the mana to use it!"

  Ninya now began to excitedly talk, and Tsuare felt happy for her, so she let her rant away.

  "He told me that I can keep using it for as long as I’m around mana—which is obviously always—so I don’t ever need to worry about my spell running out! Isn't it cool?!"

  "It's cool, yep!" Tsuare nodded along, her excitement completely genuine.

  "Lord Antikythera taught me how to sense the mana in the air and then how to weave it, and he said that my talent actually lets me copy spells! I didn’t know that!"

  "Neither did I!" Tsuare leaned closer to her sister, sharing Ninya’s happy energy.

  "Yeah, and he also has potions that can regrow arms! He said it was a gift, but who does he think I am? I know that it was his—after all, he had so many potions that I lost count of how much they cost!"

  Ninya had sparkles in her eyes as she described what happened.

  "Really?! He really thinks he can trick you?!" Tsuare ughed. Only half of it was fake—when Ninya started ughing with her, it became genuine.

  ======

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