The Three Ark Gate Sisters

After explaining the situation to Shia, I had her connect a gate to the thicket behind my manor.

When I told her we had come from the thicket, Shia froze for a moment, then deliberately looked away while seeming a little flustered. It was kind of amusing.

A gate made of golden light spread out directly in front of us.

Its brightness and size were completely different from the gate Aura-chan had created, making Shia’s extraordinary power obvious.

Still holding hands, we stepped into the golden light.

Passing through the gate with the ease of walking through a doorway, we found ourselves back in the thicket.

“Um… I’m home?”

“Welcome back, Nova-sama.”

The one who greeted us—if that counted as a greeting—was Tanya.

Behind her, Aura-chan and Yuti-san were lying down on a cloth.

Some time must have passed, but opening the gate had apparently exhausted them all over again.

“Ahh, welcome back, Nova-onii-sama. You really… brought Onee-sama back.”

Aura-chan spoke in a drawn-out voice.

Seeing her like that, Shia let go of my hand and went over to her sisters.

She placed her hands on the backs of the collapsed Aura-chan and Yuti-san.

“O-Onee-sama?”

“…I feel much better. Thank you, Family Head.”

Shia had probably transferred mana to them.

The two of them, who had been breathing heavily just moments ago, seemed to recover and sat upright.

“No, I caused trouble for both of you. Nova-san told me that you forced yourselves to connect the gate twice… I’m truly sorry… but thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Aura-chan smiled with a little giggle, while Yuti-san looked back and forth between Shia and me before nodding.

“It seems Nova-san managed to do it. I’m glad. …By the way, does this mean I’ve gained a younger brother-in-law?”

“Onee-sama, you finally…?”

Under the intense gazes of Aura-chan and Yuti-san, Shia gave a wry smile and nodded.

“Congratulations, Nova-sama.”

“Now you really are Nova-onii-sama.”

“It was difficult, but I’m glad everything worked out.”

As the three of them celebrated as though it were their own good news, I felt a little embarrassed.

Beside me, Tanya lowered the corners of her eyes apologetically.

“Nova-sama… about those… coordinates…”

“Ah, Shia already told me. You had met Shia before, right?”

When I said that, Tanya suddenly dropped to one knee.

Her abrupt action startled me.

“I’m terribly sorry. I knew about your relationship with Shia-san, so I passed information about you to her… I couldn’t deny it if you called that a betrayal…”

“No, no, it’s fine. If it’s Shia, you can tell her as much as you want.”

“…You aren’t angry?”

Tanya looked up at me anxiously, and I shook my head.

“Because the person you were telling was Shia.”

I didn’t mind Shia knowing anything about me, and I understood perfectly well that Tanya had acted out of concern for me because of the poor treatment I had endured.
So I had every reason to thank her and none at all to blame her.

“Thank you.”
“…By the way, was there anyone else who already knew about Shia?”

I had meant the question for Shia, but perhaps because of the flow of the conversation, Tanya assumed I was asking her and answered.

“Gill-san did.”
“Ah, so that’s why things went so smoothly back then.”

Remembering the first time Shia had visited this manor, everything made sense.

“Well then, shall we head back to the manor? Shia and the others are coming too, right?”
“Yes. Thank you for having us.”
“Then I’ll show you the way. This way, please.”

Tanya took the lead, and we headed toward the manor.
Shia and Aura-chan followed behind her.

“Onee-sama, congratulations. But this is going to be your home too, so instead of saying ‘Thank you for having us,’ you should say ‘I’m home.’”
“Aura, please stop saying things that make me this happy.”

As I watched the two of them chatting happily from behind, Yuti-san came up beside me.

“Good work.”
“No, Yuti-san, you’re the one who really worked hard. Thank you.”
“This is about the only time I get to go out of my way for her. I’m merely making amends for the things I couldn’t do in the past.”
“…………”

Yuti-san occasionally said things that made it sound as though she felt guilty about something concerning Shia.
If I asked, both Yuti-san and Shia would probably tell me, but I decided not to ask for now.
Watching Aura-chan and Shia walking ahead of us, Yuti-san raised the corners of her lips slightly.

“Did you know? It was only recently that she started smiling like that. Before she became the family head, and even right after, her expression hardly ever changed—or else she wore a smile she had deliberately put on.”
“I… see.”

Looking at Shia now, it was hard to imagine, but from the fragments I had heard about her past, it made sense.

“That’s why hearing that you’re going to be with her has truly put my mind at ease.
Please take good care of her.”
“…I will.”

Yuti-san really was a wonderful older sister.

“…However, just like her power, I think her feelings are extraordinarily intense as well, so please make sure you’re prepared to accept all of them. I think you’ll be fine, Nova-san.”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. I understand Shia pretty well.”
“…………”
“U-Um…?”

She silently stared at me, leaving me slightly confused.

“It’s precisely the feelings you can’t see that tend to be troublesome… but even if those feelings come fully to light, I’m sure you’ll accept them, Nova-san, so it should be all right.”
“Um… what exactly do you mean by that?”
“I simply mean, please take care of my little sister.”
“R-Right…”

Her answer was still rather vague, but it didn’t seem like she was going to explain any further even if I asked.