Aurora-chan Talks About How Amazing Shia Is

“Wow! So, Nova-onii-sama, when it comes to swordsmanship alone, you won’t lose to anyone!?”

The three of us were sitting around a table in the comfortably maintained courtyard, chatting.

There was coffee on the table that a maid had brought us, but we had been talking long enough for it to grow cold.

We had talked about House Fols, and a little about House Ark Gate as well.

And now, the subject had turned to my skill with the sword.

“Well, I don’t think I could say I’d never lose to anyone… but I’m confident I could put up a good fight. If they use Haki, though, there’s no way I can win.”

As I explained that, I looked at Aurora-chan, whose eyes were sparkling, and a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Shia was said to be the strongest head of House Ark Gate in its history, so her magical power must be incredible.

Then what about Aurora-chan?

“Come to think of it, Aurora-chan, are you good at magic too?”

When I asked, Aurora-chan smiled brightly and nodded.

“Of course! I’m nowhere near Oneesama’s level, but aside from her, I’m still the best mage in this manor.”

“Huh? Really?”

I found Aurora-chan’s claim hard to believe and instinctively looked at Shia, but she nodded, so apparently it was true.

Of course, doing that naturally made Aurora-chan angry.

“Hey! You don’t believe me, do you!?”

“Sorry, sorry… It’s just that you’re not even an adult yet, Aurora-chan, and you can already use magic that well… You’re so amazing that I’m still having trouble believing it.”

I had heard that she was six years younger than me, making her fourteen.

Even though she had not yet come of age, she was better at magic than everyone in this manor except Shia. That really was incredible.

Wait, everyone except Shia?

“Then does that mean you’re even better than Yuti-san?”

“We’ve never fought, but I think I’d probably win. …It would be pretty close, though.”

“Whoa… Aurora-chan, you’re really amazing…”

“Hehehe, what kind of reaction is that?”

She laughed at me, but I was so surprised that even the strength had gone out of my voice.

Maybe she was what people called a natural-born genius.

I obviously wasn’t going to get jealous of Aurora-chan, but I did feel a little envious.

If I had even a tiny fragment of her talent… No, if I had, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now.

“In that case, once you grow up, maybe becoming an even greater mage than Shia isn’t just a dream. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll be capable of.”

I brought up Shia’s name to praise Aurora-chan.

I said it while exchanging a glance with Shia, but—

“Oh, Nova-onii-sama, that’s impossible.”

Aurora-chan said it flatly as she stood up from her chair.

She walked a short distance away, picked something up, and came back.

Resting in her outstretched palm was a small pebble.

“For example, let’s say this represents how much mana I have right now.”

“…A pebble? Couldn’t you use something bigger? Like… that boulder over there?”

I thought comparing her own power to a pebble was a bit much, so I pointed toward a large boulder in the garden. Aurora-chan let out a thoughtful “Hmm.”

“Well, this pebble is fine, or you can say the boulder is how much mana I’ll have once I’m grown up, but…”

At that, Aurora-chan turned her palm over.

Naturally, the pebble fell to the ground.

It struck the carefully laid stone paving and rolled away with a clatter.

“Whether it’s a pebble or a boulder, this is what happens, right?”

“? What do you mean?”

I didn’t understand what she was getting at, so I asked.

“Oneesama’s mana is like the earth itself.”

Aurora-chan declared that with a bright smile.

Come on, surely that was an exaggeration, I thought as I looked at Shia, but she was smiling awkwardly.

Apparently, even she thought that comparison was going too far.

Still, it was rather heartwarming.

Aurora-chan probably just wanted to make her beloved older sister sound even more impressive.

It was obvious from watching her that Aurora-chan adored Shia, and children often tended to exaggerate things.

Especially considering what had happened in the library, Aurora-chan seemed to have a mischievous streak too.

“I see… Shia really is amazing.”

“Yes, she’s incredibly amazing.”

“But you’re amazing too, Aurora-chan.”

“Hehe, thank you!”

Aurora-chan sat back down, then suddenly clapped her hands together as if she had remembered something.

“Oh, right! I had something I wanted to give you, Nova-onii-sama!”

What Aurora-chan held out to me was some stationery.

Unlike the black stationery Shia had given me, this set was a cute shade of pink.

“I think Oneesama already gave you some, but if you’d like, please take mine too!”

I accepted about twenty sheets of stationery.

Looking closely, I could see the crest of House Ark Gate stamped onto them.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Of course. Now we can contact each other whenever we want!”

I carefully tucked the stationery into my pocket.

Now I could contact both Shia and Aurora-chan at any time.

“Can you make this magical stationery too, Aurora-chan?”

“If I already have the original, all I need to do is put mana into it. This doesn’t actually require that much mana.”

Aurora-chan smiled as she said that, but Shia added an explanation with a wry smile.

“No, to be precise, Aura and Yuti can make them. Most other people don’t have enough mana.”

“Oh, right. Maybe so. I’ve never really thought about it much.”

Being Shia’s sisters, their mana reserves must have been extraordinary as well.

Even something this trivial made it obvious that the two of them possessed unusually powerful abilities.

“Come to think of it, Aurora-chan, can you use Gate magic?”

It was the magic Shia had been using to make things easier for me.

I wondered if Aurora-chan, a prodigy of House Ark Gate, might be able to use it too.

“No way, no way. I understand how you’re supposed to activate it, but forget maintaining a Gate—I don’t even have enough mana to make one large enough for someone to pass through.”

Aurora-chan rested her elbows on the table, cupped her cheeks in both hands, and swung her legs back and forth.

Apparently, Gate magic required an entirely different level of mana.

“…Shia really is… incredibly amazing…”

“…You’re making me a little embarrassed.”

Shia scratched her cheek with a finger, looking bashful.

As I gazed at her in admiration, I felt someone looking at me from the side.

Aurora-chan was glancing back and forth between Shia and me.

“Aura?”

“I want to see Nova-onii-sama fight.”

“…Huh?”

I wondered what she was suddenly talking about, but Aurora-chan’s eyes were sparkling.

“According to Oneesama, Nova-onii-sama is the one person she can’t beat! Hey, hey, if you don’t mind, I’d kind of like to see the two of you fight just a little!”

“A-Aurora-chan…”

I had no idea what kind of misunderstanding she was under, but there was no way I could beat Shia.

She was the head of House Ark Gate and a national hero.

Meanwhile, although I came from House Fols, a prestigious family of swordsmen, I couldn’t even use Aura.

“Aura, you mustn’t trouble Nova-san too much.”

Apparently Shia thought the same thing, because she stepped in to stop her.

“There’s no way I could beat Nova-san. It would be impossible.”

Or so I thought, but Shia said the exact opposite of what I had been thinking.

Huh? What did she mean?

My head filled with questions, and I couldn’t help asking.

“Um… what do you mean?”

“I believe I told you before, but my mana submitted to Nova-san after you scolded me that one time. So no matter what magic I use, I doubt it would be capable of harming you.”

“Huh…?”

I did remember hearing something like that, but was that really how it worked?

If she used some overwhelmingly powerful spell on me, I felt like I’d be helpless against it.

“…Um, in that case, would you like to try? A mock battle.”

“Huh?”

“Well, you looked rather curious, as though you wanted to test it for yourself…”

Apparently, it had shown on my face.

I was certainly curious whether Shia’s magic would really work on me, but more than that, I also wanted to know how well my swordsmanship would fare against someone who was hailed as a national hero.

“W-Well then… would you mind having a mock battle with me?”

“Ooh! A mock battle between Oneesama and Nova-onii-sama!”

Aurora-chan bounced excitedly like a child, apparently thrilled that she would get to watch a fight.

Well, she actually was a child, I thought, when she abruptly stopped celebrating and looked at Shia.

“Ah, but Oneesama, please use magic meant for fighting people, okay? No blowing away this entire area or anything like that.”

Come on, there was no way she could use magic like that, I thought with a wry smile.

“I know. This is only a mock battle, after all.”

Shia replied to Aurora-chan with an exasperated look.

…Huh? She can actually use magic like that?

I was already beginning to regret asking for the mock battle.