Master Thales looked dumbfounded as he stared at the two standing before him. One was Briar, and the other was Doppler-Briar.

“Well? Can you tell which is real and which is fake?” One of them asked.

After staring long and hard he muttered under his breath. “Although I know that this is just a spell, it’s still blasted strange to see both at the same time.”

With a few more minutes of consideration, he pointed at the left-hand one. “That one.”

“Hmm? What makes you say that?” Briar asked.

“Yes, I’d like to know, too.” Doppler-Briar asked.

“Because you feel more dangerous. Never underestimate a veteran’s sense of danger. But, still. It’s almost perfect. If I didn’t know any better, and wasn’t comparing the two of you, I’d probably not be able to tell the difference!” Master Thales said.

“Aw, this won’t do. We won’t be able to fool Rothema at this point.” Briar said.

“Not to mention the fact that I can’t use mana.” Doppler-Briar said. “The old man would likely pick up on that real quick, if it weren’t for this.” He lifted his arm, and pulled up the sleeve. Resting on the arm was a perfect replica of Master Thales’ mana cuffs.

“Oh? How were you able to cast a spell with mana cuffs on?” Master Thales asked.

Briar shook her head. “They’re fakes. I had commissioned a skilled craftsman make them in town earlier, before you arrived. They were just finished today.”

“And this is the reason why you waited until now?” Thales asked.

“There was also the fact that the timing wasn’t right, and I was still undecided upon the method of duplication.” Briar offered.

Thales sighed. “What am I going to do with you, Thera?” He asked.

“What? Why do you need to do anything?” She asked.

“You don’t know? Madam Rothema’s been teasing you this whole time about duplicating yourself. To be honest, we all thought you were going to ask Morning Star to stand in for you with an illusion. None of us actually believed that you’d succeed at creating a double. This is a question that has plagued the top echelons of the Magician’s circles! It should be impossible!”

Briar froze. “What!”

“What!” Doppler Briar also exclaimed, both faces aghast as they then looked at each other.

“How did you manage to do it?” Master Thales asked.

Briar had a very strange expression on her face. “Mana isn’t everything.” She finally said, but refused to say more.

“Please excuse us, but even the forests occasionally have ears.” Doppler Briar said.

Briar turned to look at Doppler-Briar. “Now, on to a separate business. Brother, you need a nickname.”

“Right, we can’t both keep using ‘Briar’ all the time. It’d quickly get too confusing.” Doppler Briar agreed.

“Ooh! How about we call you Marshall?” Briar suggested, making a pun on the word ‘martial’ for ‘martial practitioner’.

“Only if I can call you Mana” He replied just as easily, tugging on his ear.

“But then Team Briar’s names will be too different. It’s not consistent.” Briar objected.

“Then how about I be ‘Briar-nii, and you can be Briar-nee?” He asked.

“If that’s the case, we should just call each other Brother and Sister.” She replied flatly.

Master Thales watched their back and forth, with a slightly difficult feeling. It felt like he had gained yet another pupil who, although familiar, was also slightly foreign. According to the Thera he knew, she was always quiet and taciturn, unless she was playing with Laura. She only rarely came out with her childish side, even when very young. Now was one of those rare times.

“I insist upon a nickname! Others can’t call us brother and sister, after all!” Doppler Briar said, offering an important point.

“Ahem!” Master Thales broke into the conversation. “Might I give a suggestion?” He asked.

“Ah, feel free! We’re just bouncing off ideas right now.” Briar invited him, as Doppler-Briar nodded.

“Since they’ve already been established as such, both of your first names should remain as Briar.” Thales said. “But your last names will be different as if one of you were taking after the mother’s side. This happens occasionally within noble families where two direct lineages are united, for the sake of the separation of inheritance.”

“Go on.” Doppler Briar was interested.

“As for last names, think of suitable ones for your positions, okay?” He said.

Briar felt inspiration strike. She looked at Doppler-Briar. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” She asked.

“You’re Briar Rose…” He replied.

“Obviously.” She said. “I’ve already pre-established my persona. You’ll be Briar-”

“Just for future reference, I will not accept Emilio, Goku, Link, Bear, or Thorn.” Doppler-Briar quickly noted in interjection, crossing his arms in front of him. Thales raised an eyebrow at some of the names, secretly wondering if Thera was bad at naming things.

“A pre-established fact, to be sure.” Briar Rose agreed. “Therefore, your name will be Briar Mikael. How does that sound?” She chose the Russian-sounding version of Michael, in reference to Saint Michael, whose statue stood upon the peak of San Miguel castle in Italy. In the past, she had been very impressed by the gladiatorial angel raising his sword into the sky.

“Not bad. It has an older brother, guardian-type vibe to it. I like it. Do I get to slay any dragons?” He asked.

“Not unless they strike first.” Briar reminded him. “But since we’ve established a proper name, you really do need a nickname now. How about Kael?”

“Hmmm…not bad…Actually, it’s really not that bad. I can’t stand being called Mickey, but if it’s Kael…Okay, call me Kael, then!” Kael nodded, as they shook hands on it.

“Nice working with you!” Briar chirped back.

Thales watched this exchange with interest. At one point in the past, someone was able to bring a sculpture to life. Considering it to be his belonging, the creator treated the living statue terribly, and eventually was murdered by that very statue. The statue then fell apart soon afterwards, inexplicably.

Perhaps it was a good thing that Thera was the one to create a Doppler first…Kael was very lucky that his original treated him like a human being, instead of a slave or a tool. Of course, Briar gave Kael the same consideration that she gave herself: as equals and partners, rather than a master-subordinate. The two talked animatedly as they returned to the city, Master Thales behind them.

Underneath all the chatter, both Briars considered long and hard about how they would explain things to Madam Rothema.

When it comes down to it, we can only really tell her the truth. Briar decided.

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The next morning, Helen yawned as she headed down the hall towards the bathroom. On her way there, she passed by Male Briar.

“Good Morning, Helen!” He said, continuing down that hall in the opposite direction.

“Good morning, Briar-nii!” She said with a sleepy smile, and half-closed eyes. However, when she reached out her hand towards the bathroom door, it unexpectedly opened, causing her to fall backwards on her bum to avoid getting hit by the door.

“Oh my! I’m sorry, Helen! I didn’t realize you were there. Are you hurt?” Briar Rose asked.

Helen’s eyes were now quite wide open. She turned to look down the now-empty hallway. Then she turned and looked back at Briar-girl.

“But you-that…um…huh?” She stuttered, as her head started spinning trying to figure out what exactly had happened.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Briar asked.

“Didn’t you just go down the hallway?” She asked.

“Ah, that…” Briar smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll explain everything after breakfast, okay?” She held out her hand to help Helen up. Helen nodded and grasped it, allowing herself to be pulled back into a standing position.

“If you say so, Briar-nee.” Helen said, still not quite understanding what had happened.

------------------------------------

At breakfast, Madam Rothema didn’t show any signs of anything out of the ordinary, aside from a minor twitch in her eyebrow when she saw one extra member. Helen, however, rubbed her eyes and stared long and hard at how both Briars were sitting side by side, eating breakfast.

Those, who did not know, didn’t see any problem. Those, who did know, were very much shaken by this sight. Only Master Thales, having come to grips with it earlier, was unaffected.

It should be noted that Grandpa Thur and his two grandchildren were also seated there at breakfast. Grandpa Thur stared long and hard at Kael, with a somewhat discriminatory gaze.

“What is it, old man?” Kael asked, the mana cuff visible on his left arm.

“No, nothing.” He said, turning his head away.

“Nothing, my foot. He’s jealous because a certain so-me-one is hogging all of Rien’s attention~” Laura sniggered, as she glanced coyly at Rien, who was hugging onto Kael’s right arm. “I’m surprised he hasn’t done anything yet.”

While Laura was also surprised, she had become somewhat numbed to Thera’s ability to do impossible things. Instead, she had focused her energy on teasing little Rien terribly. Effectively, Rien’s face turned red as she grasped Kael’s arm even tighter, and pouted terribly.

Grandpa coughed twice as he tried to get Rien’s attention. “Rien, you should eat your breakfast.” He said, but was splendidly ignored by Rien, who turned her head away in a huff. Finally, intervention came from a separate source.

“Come on, Rien. Eat your breakfast.” Karu scolded. “If you don’t…” He trailed off with a cheeky smile on his face, as he began demolishing the food on his plate.

Only then did Rien reluctantly loosen her hold on Kael to also shovel food into her mouth. While she didn’t want to lose hold of Briar, she also hated to lose at anything. Karu hid a smirk as he once more tricked Rien into behaving properly. He was beginning to enjoy this.

Everything continued smoothly until the end of breakfast, when Madam Rothema finally spoke.

“Ah, that reminds me. Briar?”

““Yes?”” both of them answered.

“Erm, can I speak to both of you in the library, please?” She asked.

IT HAPPENED! Thales, Laura, Helen, and both Briars thought to themselves. Madam Rothema was finally going to interrogate them. Briar Rose and Kael felt nervous sweat begin to form. Hopefully the interrogation won’t go on for too long, or else they’d miss their matches.

“Sure! We’ll be right there.” Briar replied, keeping up a cheerful front, while secretly feeling terrified. She’s going to explode, I just know it!

Kael also answered to the affirmative with similar hidden feelings of dread. But both of them couldn’t put off the inevitable, so they soon excused finished eating and excused themselves from the table to head to the library.

Standing in front of the door, they looked at each other for moral support. Then Kael took a deep breath before rapping on the door.

“Teacher, it’s us.” He said.

“Come in.” came the reply as the door opened inwards. Both Briars entered the now-darkened room.