“Big sister… wake up… big sister.”
Through drowsy eyes, a blur of red appeared in front of her.
Aurora rubbed her sleepy eyes, finally making out the delicate, petite face of Laura Belle.
Yesterday, she and Laura Belle had chatted for a long time, all about trivial matters—discussing the different types of elves, the basics of magic, then moving from magic to the history of the kingdom’s downfall. She thought, if the sun could slip by, perhaps they really would have talked all night.
“What’s wrong, little sister…”
Her eyes still wouldn’t fully open, and she felt like she hadn’t slept for even two hours before being woken up, inevitably leaving her a bit confused.
“Big sister, I’m back!”
“Back… back where?”
Her brain seemed not to have fully started up yet. After spinning for a bit, she suddenly understood.
Her eyes opened wide in an instant, and she asked happily, “You’re back!”
“Mm, we’ve arrived at the Academy. Soon you’ll be able to come out, big sister.”
Aurora sprang up from bed like a carp leaping from water.
She had no idea how long she’d been locked in this space. Although she had food and drink and lived far more comfortably than before, this place was still a bit too strange, making her feel uneasy.
Laura Belle knew this too—after all, she was a Holy Knight, not a witch or a magic user. She couldn’t control magic as skillfully as Beatrice.
So even though she could create space magic, she couldn’t add much detail to it.
“Speaking of which, little sister…”
Aurora’s smile suddenly faded a little. She looked into Laura Belle’s eyes and asked, “After we get out, where should I go?”
“Will I live with you? I’m afraid I might get in the way of your work…”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Laura Belle deliberately kept her in suspense. She didn’t say anything more, instead closing her eyes as if sensing something.
“Little sister?”
Aurora reached out, trying to touch her, but her hand passed right through Laura Belle’s body.
Startled, Aurora instinctively pulled her hand back.
Right after, she saw the person in front of her begin to dissolve into thousands of silky threads, drifting up into the air.
At the same time, her own body began to change.
She started to turn into countless points of glowing light, floating upward as well.
There was no discomfort at all—on the contrary, a warm sensation spread through her whole body.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Laura Belle in her adult form standing before her.
“Little sister!”
She hurried to reach out and touch her, and this time, she didn’t pass right through.
Once she felt reassured, she began to look around.
“Where is this…”
The scent in her nose was a classic blend of old books, wooden desks, chairs, and floors.
The morning sunlight shone on the desk, which was piled with books and papers. There was also a red seal placed on top—this must be an office.
“Don’t be afraid, big sister.”
“There’s no danger here.”
“You’re the most dangerous one here.”
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind Aurora. She thought she’d heard it before.
She turned around, meeting Albert’s sharp gaze.
Her heart couldn’t help but shrink a little, but not wanting to embarrass herself in front of her little sister, she straightened her back and asked the blue-haired woman in front of her, “Can you let us go?”
“Of course.”
“But… I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave.”
“You want to go back on your word?!” Aurora shouted at her angrily.
But right after, she heard something that left her completely confused.
“It’s not me going back on my word—it’s your dear little sister who wants to.”
She turned her head, looking at her little sister with puzzled eyes.
“W-what do you mean?”
Laura Belle didn’t answer, but instead took out a piece of paper from behind her. On it was a striking red seal—Orphea Academy Certification.
Following the seal, Aurora’s gaze moved upward, and she saw a line of bold characters at the top of the page. She read them out slowly, word by word…
“Admission Agreement.”
“Admission Agreement?!”
As if she couldn’t believe it, she read it out loud again, this time in utter shock.
She looked at her little sister in disbelief, and the words that slipped out left even Laura Belle speechless.
“You’d really sell your big sister off to a place like this…”
“What do you take our Academy for?!” Before Laura Belle could speak, Albert couldn’t help but explode.
Noticing Aurora seemed a bit frightened, Laura Belle quickly said, “Big sister, these are the enrollment documents I arranged for you. From now on, you’ll be a student here.”
“B-but…”
In Aurora’s mind, a place like an Academy had always been a playground for noble children from wealthy families, so she’d always felt resistant to the word ‘Academy.’ Whenever she heard it, she thought of nobles—and whenever she thought of nobles, she remembered all the things that brought her pain.
Although, in theory, her little sister was already part of the nobility, in her heart, she would always separate her sister from the group called ‘nobles’ and see her as a special ‘type.’
After all, she was her little sister.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, big sister. I’ll be by your side,” Laura Belle said softly, holding Aurora’s trembling hand.
She’d thought about this a lot on the way back.
Since she needed Misha’s help no matter what, she had to stay at the Academy.
After all, the Academy wasn’t a place she could come and go as she pleased. It was a giant floating island that was always moving—if she lived outside, who knew when the Academy might vanish?
And Misha had explained that as long as they found a way to enter the Demon World, there would be a way to remove the familiar’s Red Chain from her sister. She hadn’t been able to find such a method in the First Kingdom, but maybe she could here.
Another thing was, as long as she stayed here, she could use ‘official business’ or ‘missions’ as an excuse to skip a lot of troublesome tasks, giving her more time to spend with her big sister.
“B-but little sister, didn’t you say this was a magic academy…? I don’t have any foundation at all.”
“And didn’t you tell me the Academy’s entrance exams were really strict? I might not even pass.”
Laura Belle gave her a thumbs up and said, “Don’t worry, big sister, I’ve taken care of everything for you.”
A lot of problems could be solved with money. If not, then with fists. And if that still didn’t work, she’d throw out a reason the other party couldn’t refuse—like taking up a temporary position as a Special Lecturer at the Academy.
This was different from being a substitute teacher before. As a Special Lecturer, she would need to help the Academy solve some problems—like stepping in when there were signs of cultists around the Academy.
And as it happened, the recent cultist incident hadn’t been completely resolved yet, and they just needed an ‘exorcism expert.’
“Big sister, enjoy your life at the Academy. I’ll always be by your side.”