“Eh? How!? How’d you even know I was behind you?!?!?”

“Yuki kinda gave you away. That’s when I realised...”

“Hyaa!!”

「Continuously swinging her own katana at me as I defended myself against a couple more strikes, Sonia finally stepped back and relaxed her grip once she realised that she wouldn’t be able to strike me any time soon. Lowering her katana, she trotted backwards before flicking around the blade and returning it back into its sheath.」

“Having reactions that good is cheating...”

“Huehue, it is what it is. You get better at reacting the more you practice and get used to it.”

「At the nonchalant reply accompanied by the shrug I just gave, she puffed her cheeks in a pout. It's only been a year since she started training under us, so by now she's at least able to understand the difference in skill between the learned siblings and the greenhorn neophyte.」

“Muuu… guess I missed out on seeing you two spar...”

「She had said this while sulking and crossing her arms. Sonia was a bit late in coming to see the spectacle of us throwing around our blades, so I can get why she’s bothered.」

“Nee-san finally came. What were you doing all this time?”

「Yuki walked over, low on breath from the earlier skirmish and trying to confirm what Sonia had been doing a story beneath.」

“Hm? I just left some stuff at your place. You'll see what I mean later ♡. Anyway, you two should rest. It must have been some intense spar like always if you two are so worn out.”

“Nnn, then we'll take the opportunity to rest first, and afterwards we can take turns.”

“In that case, Sora, you and me, like we promised, let’s spar- AUWAUWAU?!??!”

“Today's my turn to spar with Nee-san, I don’t know what you're on about but that’s what we promised. You’d better be ready on standby.”

“Y-yuki, that… kinda hurts…. y'know????”

「I bet it does… doesn’t it Neeeeeesaaaaaaaann????

I had instantly pulled on her right ear just as she was about to pull a fast one, forcing a ghastly smile, the corners of which were twitching. Nii-chan had this strained smile while watching us interact no different than always.」

“Uuuu… then I'll practice doing suburi in the meantime then…”

「With a pained look, Sonia acquiesced to Yuki's command.

Now that a certain someone is here, we'd have to take turns with who matches up against who. Sounds like some tournament now at this point.」

“Let's do it on another day, maybe tomorrow.”

“Hou… giving up already? Didn’t think you'd immediately start running away with your tail tucked between your legs… fufufu- uuuuuuu???”

“That's funny, coming from you…”

“Munyaaa…”

「She got on my nerves just a little, so I stretched her cheeks out like tofu. To think she'd start getting this cocky just because... well no, it was fair since because of that, but still...」

“…Hn!”

“!??”

「Sonia swung the case, scabbard and all, above her head down as I let go of her squishy cheeks. Reclining a bit and dropping my own sword, I raised both my hands up and clapped the sides of the sheathed katana. Clamped between my palms was her sheathed katana as I stopped her blade with the precision of threading a straw pipe through the slot of a cold cup lid.

...

SHIRAHADORIIIIIIII!!!!!!」

“Huuuhhh??!?!”

“OOOHHHHH!!! THAT WAS AWESOME!?!!?!! DO IT AGAIN ✩✩!!!”

“You crazy????? Not doing this a damn second time, you know for sure Sonia’s gonna go full throttle next time...”

「I had to look away from the blaring discontentment sent my way by Sonia as my crazy imouto's eyes were twinkling in amazement like some idiot in a comedy show that saw a magical trick like stabbing themselves and still coming out alive and wanting to try it out themselves just for a few laughs. When it became serious, it wouldn’t be a laughing matter…

The only reason I was able to do something so stupid was because the blade came down slowly.

Hold up, doesn’t that make me the idiot then?」

“Heeeyyyy... so you could even do something like that huh????”

「I was certain next time Sonia would give me a concussion with that fiery, molten glare of hers that expressed how she was not impressed in the least.

Ahahaha... are you guys able to tell how much I'm sweating right now?」

“...”

“Kh?!!”

「The cased sword struck my left abdomen as I folded over in acute pain. Didn’t even see it coming because I was looking away... I totally deserved it...

Like hell I did?!? Why did I have get hit...」

“S-sonia... t-that hurts, y-y'know...?”

“Hmph, should have just dodged then if you were able catch it, Dark Nocturne.”

“Uuuu...”

「Now it hurts in more ways than one. I’M CRINGING INSTEAD!!!!

Huffing away, she crossed her arms as if she no longer cared. I could hear Yuki giggling in the background, but I ignored her. Standing up, I walked over to the edge of the roof, by the limits of the ground splitting the sky. Yuki also tagged along.

Yuki and I leaned against the stainless-steel rails fenced on the perimeter of this flat plateau at the peak of this tall skyscraper where the three of us reside.

I had to stretch a little to ease the pain so it kinda sucked.

On the drenched benches was a plastic bottle of water where I had left it earlier, filled to the brim.

Whose idea was it to bring only one bottle?

Oh right, it was mine. I forgot to bring an extra bottle. Seems like we'll have to drink from the same bottle. Should have brought another bottle, but did it matter even if it was accidental forgetfulness?

A Glacier Smart Water bottle with enhanced electrolytes. Higher amounts of electrically charged minerals, like sodium, magnesium and potassium, are good for your body, especially when it’s after any intense amount of physical activity since your body uses up these minerals during aerobic movement.

Rest is equally important since you need to give your body the time to perform bodily respiration via oxygen intake.

I picked up the water contained in a cylindrical bottle, tapering into the mouth atop the curved intrusion shaped like a flipped funnel with a widened snout.」

“Here, Yuki.”

「Turning around, I handed it over to Yuki for her to drink first. Since it's her turn today, she'd need to cool herself down first. I wasn’t as tired as she was spent since I'd pretty much been defending against her impeccable sword techniques most of the time.

Her special attack gauge was pretty much empty.

Slanting the bottle 135°, her two cherry lips touched the rim of the aperture, drinking the water sliding down the bottle thanks to gravity. Taking a few gulps, she then heaved an exhausted sigh as a droplet became a streak escaping from the corner of her mouth, separated from the bottle. Wiping away the excess water with the back of her hand, her reflective eyes glistened as the golden rays of the Sun swam within her corneas.

Was drinking water always this scenic? Heck, I wondered if I could drink like that with such style from the same water bottle.

Eh... screw it all.

She handed the drink back anyways, so I also took a sip from the same area she planted her lips as she sat on a dry section of the floor against the railing while looking out to the horizon in the distance on the opposite side.

The wind caressed her all-black outfit, swaying to the tune of the baritone howls and from behind, the cutting of air done by a wooden katana.

Yuki was observing Sonia’s form as she swung the blade while stepping back and forth. Although there was no direct need for it, since she’s got the form down perfectly.

Yuki seemed to know, as she ended up closing her eyes a few strokes later, as if paying attention to the whooshing of the winds.

I stood, placing my arms on top of the rails and leaning on it, staring out to the sunrise behind Yuki.」

˹ Quietude.

It’s almost too silent. If one could read and interpret someone else’s thoughts, I’d be reading Nee-san’s mind like a book memorised by heart just by letting my vision ride the winds flowing towards her. Think of it like some supernatural link that connected me and Nee-san with the wind acting as some cool effect visualising this.

For her to be diligently swinging that blade is mystery all on its own. You could write a detective novel from just this one scenario alone. Then, it suddenly dawned upon me that we needed to buy groceries. ˼

“Nii-chan, I just remembered that we need to go shopping for groceries after practice.”

“Oh! You don’t have to worry about that!”

“Nn? Wait, why?”

“Like I sa~id, youuuu’ll seeee ♡!!”

˹ Might that be what she meant by ‘leaving something’? Oh well, we’ll get to see it once we go back.

Around 5 or 6 minutes passed as Sonia-neesan executed different variations of the suburi. Our little practice session had begun after we took our stances a bit later. It was no different from sparring. Actually, it might as well be called sparring at this point.

Nii-chan turned himself back and shifted his attention to the two of us. Stood halfway between Nee-san and I, he raised his right-hand overhead, about to start the countdown.

Right now, he’s going to act as the official refereeing our match. ˼

“3… 2… 1… Begin!”

「Hands straightened, lifted above my head and descending on the mark of three, it signaled the starting point of their match.

Rapidly closing the distance, Sonia drove her katana towards Yuki’s chest, thrusting with one hand before missing it by a few centimeters since Yuki had fallen back. She immediately followed it up with a diagonal slash toward Yuki’s right temple.

Quickly dodging it, Yuki ducked downward, causing Sonia to miss her second attack once again as Yuki fled. Sonia started to give chase, aiming for the weak spots in her defence. With her head on assault, Yuki repelled every frenzying attempt with the blade of her wooden katana from all the different directions Sonia's flurry of arcs had traced, clanging on each other's blade.

Yuki was gradually being pushed back by Sonia's dominance, stepping backwards in the opposite direction as she pushed forward with a relentless rain of onslaught.」

“Nghh…!”

“I've got you now, Yuki!!!”

「Sonia obviously knew she had the upper hand as Yuki was enervated from our duel earlier, so she capitalised on that advantage.

In between the intervals of time taken for Sonia to redirect the trajectory of her kiri blade for the next strike were the openings Yuki had been looking for.

During the heat of their offence-defence, reversing the tide of battle sounds impossible unless she managed to break out from the storm of blades, right?

If Yuki paid close attention and tried to follow the flow of Sonia's blade, in principle it’s simple enough for her to guess how the sword of her opponent would move just by looking at the musculature of your enemy: their eyesight, hand orientation, gesticulation and movement.

It wasn’t something anyone could do unless they had lots of experience in swordsmanship themselves.

Taking the chance as soon as a leeway revealed itself, Yuki pounced right into her personal space, diverting Sonia’s blade with a sideways parry.」

“Haha, who's got who now?”

「With her left hand, Yuki caught Sonia's right wrist and went ahead with a judo throwing techniqu- wait wait seriously????

With a half turn towards her left, Yuki swept up Sonia's feet by tripping her over her right foot, throwing Sonia over her shoulder and right onto the ground. But just as she was about to injure herself, Sonia broke her fall by performing ukemi, before rolling on the wet earth and righting herself with a one-handed backflip and retaking her stance.」

“Aaahhh…! now my shirt’s all dirty… Hehe, Yuki-chan, I'll make you pay back for this!”

「There goes her outfit, but since she wore a PE kit, it should be fine... A slightly shocked look on her face but right after it got erased, it transformed into a mischievous smirk.」

“Do your worst, Nee-san ♡.”

「A volatile atmosphere within the eden once again encompassed the pair of flowers, gripping their katanas and pointing those thorns at each other. Soon enough, they devolved into a full-on brawl like kids fighting in a sand pit.

What happened to them sparring? It probably ended awhile back, but even I forgot at what point that was.

I blankly watched their aikido battle unfold with their kiri bokutos nowhere in sight, sending right hooks and fist blows, trips and jabs at each other as a physical scuffle ensued.

A while later…

Splayed out like starfish on the floor were two young girls drenched in what little rainwater remained from the puddles. Both Yuki and Sonia were deeply inhaling air, heaving from oxygen deprivation.」

“Haa…haa…haa… never… again……”

“Haa…. Haaaa…”

“Well fought, you two. How about we call it a day?”

“…unnnn…”

“…yeah…”

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

˹ Hm? Ah! It seems that the three of them are returning! Yay! My part finally returns! I’m saying this because I probably won’t get much appearance time, like I had once said. Please try to understand – my existence is pretty much at stake here. ˼

「Right now, the three of us were at the Amamiya sibling's household. Or at least our living quarters a single floor beneath.

After frying themselves to fainéance, Yuki and I returned to our condo with Sonia tagging along.

Taking off their footwear at the entrance, they both went to Yuki's room to change, while I went into my room, taking a spare change of clothes and leaving for the bathroom.

Oh, how I lament my lack of presence then and there!

No, I’m obviously joking. Or am I?」

-════════════════-

“Yuki-chan, your clothes aren’t going to fit me… might have to ask Sora to borrow his clothes...”

“Houuuuuuu, Nee-san, that's not exactly something I can ignore...”

˹ Fufu... ahahahahahahaahahahahhaahhahaa what? Is she insinuating that my chest is smaller than hers????

Looks like Nee-san has a death wish. ˼

「It was at that moment, I knew I fucked up.

My complexion automatically paled in fright as her eyes – the shape of the diamond french suit on an ace card – expressed her intent as if she was ready to kill…」

“Hyaahhh!!!”

“Waah!!?!?!”

「SHIT!!!!!! SHE WAS ACTUALLY READY TO POUNCE ON ME!!?!?

Running like my life depended on it, I pivoted on my toes to get out of her way as she might have been diving in just to squeeze my chest. Her hands were even clawed, ready for groping. This is definitely not a situation where I’d be okay with another female fondling me!!

Snatching my phone (as I happened to leave it in my pile of clothes), I made my escape half-naked into the corridor while shutting the door too. I couldn’t help but wonder ‘wouldn’t it be a brilliant coincidence if Sora happened to come out any time now?’

Fufufu… And why don’t you look at that!? He actually came out!!」

“Huh? What’s happenin– !?”

“Sora! Come with me!”

「Taking refuge in the bathroom, I shut the lock on the door and turned on the lights.

But wait…」

“These doors… they aren’t going to just open at the tap of a single button, are they? Please tell me otherwise…”

「I had this terrible foreboding suspicion that everything in their flat might have been modded, so I asked with a slightly quivering smile just to be sure, scared for the love of my life about the truth, but…」

“Hmm? They won’t~ ~ but more importantly, what’s up? You’re k-kinda half-naked y’kn…ow?”

「Thank goodness. Yuki-chan would be compromising your privacy in that case… and what’s up? Me about to get murdered by imouto-chan is what’s up. Anyways–」

“Oh, I don’t mind you looking. In fact, I won’t mind stripping down right here & now since I’m about to get in ♡.”

「Although, Sora will end up seeing that ugly scar of mine up on my right arm… But that’s fine…」

“No, please do mind, milady...”

「As I was about to unhook my bra from the front, he reached his hand out to obstruct me from going any further, he held my hand as quickly as he looked away.

A faint rosy colour flushed his cheeks a little. Awwww… what a cute reaction!!!

Despite how reserved he looks, he easily gets flustered by such venereal moments. Can’t… suppress… the ‘HNGGGGGGG’!!! TOO KAWAII!!!!!

Fufufu… I knew he would have nowhere to look since we were technically in the washing section of the bathroom, next to the sink on the right where an all-in-one washing machine and dryer were designated that looked like some futuristic tech, so it was cramped with two people being in one place… In his vision of sight was me in a pink lacy bra on and matching underwear…」

“Why exactly am I here? I’ll be taking my leave then…”

“No wait, hold on!?!? I need a favour first, then there’s–”

[ “Nee-san, are you in theeeere ♡?” ]

「–Came a saccharine sweet voice permeating through the other side of the door: a literal boundary between the two opposing worlds.

That’s the other problem!!

In an instant, I was reminded of the tension from earlier and tensed up myself in sheer fright. We paused for a second before I was about to switch to a whisper and continue what I was going to say, but Sora broke the fleeting silence, beating me to it.」

“Yuki, it’s me. What’s up?”

[ “…Ohhhhh, is Nee-san inside with you by any chance?” ]

“No~ ~?”

[ “Mm… okaaaay~ then!” ]

「Pheeeeeeew... somehow, I managed to pass the storm before it even hit. No, ‘survive’ is a better term to portray this precarious situation I'm in. We took a couple seconds to wait, then I returned back to facing Sora again, as he enquired what I meant earlier but in a quietened voice.」

“So, what did you wanna ask?”

“Hnn… hope you don’t mind me borrowing your clothes. I can’t really wear anything Yuki-sized...”

「I answered in a hushed tone, as the knowing look appearing on Sora was all I needed to confirm that he understood the predicament I was in. Thank goodness. If I looked in the mirror right now, a look of relief would have been plastered all over me.」

“Oh yeah, I don’t mind. Feel free to wear whatever. Anything except hoodies.”

“Mm! Sure!”

「Alright! Wear nothing but hoodies! Got it!」

“I’ll be taking my leave now then.”

「The metallic click went off from the lock as Sora left the bathroom and out to the corridor. Now that I think about it, why was he here? Maybe he was about to take a bath as well???

Nooooooooo!!!!! I missed my chance to ask him to bathe along with me!

Oh well, it’s a bit late now. If I tried bringing him back, Yuki might castigate me for reasons numbering more than just one. I worried too much about Yuki.

Oh thyself, I lament how thine opportunity was squandered!

Taking off my bra and panties, I kept them in one of the four basket-like drawers that made up the storage units of the water hyacinth basket tower to the left of the pearly sink. Wrapping myself in a towel, I started walking toward the bath.

-════════════════-

“Nii-chan...”

“Yo.”

˹ I colloquially greeted Yuki, my little sister, while shutting the door behind me, as if trying to prove the veracity of something. ˼

-════════════════-

「A few seconds later, as I turn to the entrance of the actual bath–」

Kchk!

“!!!!!!!?!?!?!?!?”

「Run.

Sprinting with all my might, I dashed into the bathing room and locked that door.

I have lost all trust in these haunted doors. All I can do now is pray that AT LEAST this one final door wouldn’t break open. The door of the washroom thundered asunder as the bathing room blared shut from the force of my hand, with fast approaching steps. Just for extra insurance, I pressed my back on the door in case it did open, and if I did happen to espy the face of the Goddess Venus on the other side. The utter opposite of snow and ice, but yet the same. Wait, what's with that juxtaposition?!??」

[ “Tch.” ]

「Ahahaha... Yuki clicked her tongue on the other side, behind my back as I stifled a dry laugh in my mind. Footsteps knocked on the floor as I could hear Yuki exiting from the bathroom.

My countenance frozen solid, wide-eyed with a blank expression, the adrenaline just wouldn’t calm down. For a solid minute, I stood stock still before my knees gave way and I slid down, slumping onto the tiles below my feet before the spiky anxiety eased away.

Sora.

Sora.

Sora.

You little... DICKHEAAAAAAADDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!」

-════════════════-

˹ I lied.

Hehe, I felt like trolling her, and so, for payback from earlier, how about we scare the life out of her??!!?

I closed the door as the evil within me laughed in anticipation for what was about to happen. Can’t imagine the jump scare she’s gonna get.

Sonia, have fuuuuun!!!

While walking away back to my room, I shall silently offer a requiem of prayer for her. ˼

-════════════════-

「...

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SUSPICIOUS?!?? THAT BRIEF DISSONANCE IN SORA’S VOICE FROM EARLIER WHEN HE ANSWERED HER WAS SO OBVIOUS AS WELL!??!?!」

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

˹ What the fuck did I just witness… no, that’s not even a question but a statement, that’s why I didn’t bother enquiring.

I think I now know why the world is ending… half the reason. ˼

「After showering in my room's en suite shower for like a couple minutes, I emerged from the indoor rain and left to get dressed and idling away the time on my phone. I soon realised it was about time to have our late lunch. As I was on my way to the sitting room, I spotted my little sister gowned in a royal purple shower robe, Yuki was ushering me to the inside in yonder. It seemed that Yuki finished showering – as what was tracing down her wet cosmos black hair was a luminous sheen that highlighted its lustre under the lights.

The Sun had set long time ago, and now it was practically pitch-black outside.」

“You reckon Sonia-neesan meant this from before? Because it wasn’t here earlier.”

“Mhm... probably.”

「A dining table made of oak with a complimentary set of 4 chairs, curved and cushioned, to accommodate the seated had stood between the separate kitchen and lounge.

Nothing on top. Nothing special. A plain sight. And that’s it.

However, atop the table in the dining area, a container was placed there with a see-through flask of what seemed to look like a type of tea which previously didn't existence. Lifting the lid off the bento-style box, Yuki’s eyes started sparkling at once like a lit, starry night sky when she saw what was within the wrapping paper...

That was one hell of an abrupt change in mood, given how crazed she was before she came out the shower, waning like she could trip over from lassitude into sleep. No, that was before the bathroom fiasco with Sonia.

It can’t be helped... after all, inside the container was packed full with Yuki's favourite dish, beautifully made and kept warm by the thermal food flask.」

“Onigiri!??? Itadakimaaaaaasu!!”

「She saddled herself onto the seat in a flash and started digging in without a care in the world.」

“Wait, Yuki… shouldn’t you ask Sonia first before…?”

「Why bother asking?! This looks delicious!!! Oh wait, that is kinda shameless…」

˹ “They’re both shameless. Look at ‘em.” ˼

“Huuuuh? Why should I?”

「She answered my question with a question of her own, blankly nonchalant.

Riiiiiight. I doubt Yuki had any reason to ask... no wait, she should. At least I can come up with some reason to be cautious.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Sighing, I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and pulled out a chair from the table as well. Sitting down while picking out one of the various rice balls shaped like triangles. A delish aroma Undoing the wrapping and from a single bite, the flavours burst out in unison!

The onigiri had the colouration of fried short grain rice and minced chicken blended into a mix. The salty favour of the sticky rice mixed with chicken marinated in soy sauce and mirin before finally being sautéed in vegetable oil brought to life the fantastic chemistry of the ingredients, topped off with the crunchy texture of a type of seaweed called nori. Or should I say bottomed out? The seaweed wrapped the base of the handheld prism as simply a dish it looked, despite how delectable it is. We both leisurely munched away, reducing the number of rice balls left.」

˹ Ah. He’s doing it again. ˼

“These are really good!!! Nee-san knows her stuff!! Where’s the karaage!?!”

「Squeezing her eyes shut into a look of satisfaction, even Yuki praised her cooking with a smile shaped as a [ 𝛚 ] while pouring tea into the cups that were flipped from being upside down on the table. Although they’re just rice balls… Nothing too over the top.

She opened another box and there it was. All-you-can-eat karaage.

Out the corner of my right eye, I was barely able to make out Sonia spying on us, so I looked her way.」

“!!!”

「Shuddering from my gaze, she realised my line of sight was on her and came out. Staggering forward, it seemed she... wore one of the hoodies that Yuki happened to like wearing as well.

Oh no.

This is why I told her not to wear them.」

“H-hey, oh you're eating already? Yuki, how's my onigiri?”

“They're pretty good!”

「Hold up, so many things are off right now?!! For starters...」

“You don’t mind us eating without asking?”

“Mhm… ‘course not, I did make them for you two after all… Yuki-chan, please accept it as my apology for earlier.”

“Mhmhm… unn…”

「Yuki bobbed her head up and down while nibbling on her onigiri and karaage. You’re really not gonna say anything else? I was exasperated by this anticlimactic settlement.」

“So, what's the plan this time?”

“My gosh, you’re making it sound like I'm planning on something sinister like raiding a highly-hazardous experiment lab.”

「That's exactly the sort of stuff you'd do though?!?! There's got to be more to it than this. I'll have to probe at her to get to the bottom of this.」

“It's about Magic Insurgence isn’t it?”

“Bingo! Yep, that's right. I've got quite a few things on my mind which I wanna tell you as a physicist, of which Magic Insurgence is one of.”

“It can’t be something about scientific accuracy is it?”

「I have some idea of what she’s getting at, but there’s almost too many things that could be said.」

“Hmm... I wonder about that myself. That’s what I wanted to talk about after all.”

「This all seemed rather interesting. But as I was about to hop on the trend, my phone decided it was the time to vibrate once in my pocket all of a sudden. Taking it out, I saw that along the top of the inactive AMOLED display, there was a blue indicator blinking on and off every second which indicated that I received something. Turning on the screen, I checked the notification I received was a message from someone with text written.

I sighed, knowing it was something I couldn’t just ignore.」

“Hmm? Uhm… looks like there’s something urgent I need to take care of first. Please do excuse me for a bit.”

「Immediately after I was about excuse myself, both of them entered serious mode even though I doubted it was something that needed for them to worry.」

“Nii-chan, is it about that?”

“Yeah…”

“Sora, is it something troublesome?”

“Hmm… let me just get this in – if it is, it'd cause a global crisis. That’s all to be honest. I just hope that it isn’t the case.”

「Leaving them with my thoughts, I stepped out of the lounge while ringing a certain number on my phone, while walking on a bee line straight to my room.」

-════════════════-

「Nii-chan egressed with severity that was unlike him, no matter how he tries to feign it. What he said just now, I'd rather not imagine the consequences of anything happening without being sure. It'd be like pointing fingers at others without anything to vouch for your accusation.

And thus is my reasoning, for I lament being witness to Nee-san wearing Nii-chan’s hoodie…!!

But I mustn’t show it! Stay strong! Grieve not!」

“The whole of last year, Nii-chan's been involved in a lot of network reconnaissance abroad. It might be no different this time around, and I have some idea of what he's up to.”

“Hmm… kinda clueless here… key me in on what Sora's been up to, please.”

「As if I could just tell her that Nii-chan's been infiltrating the governments of other countries from here and leaking data and files to the AIII (Agency of International Information Intelligence).」

“Well, like I said, I have some idea, but it’s nothing concrete. I just know a little bit more than what’s been circulating on media platforms. About the virus. Depending on what comes out of this… the world could change. But enough of that… I'd like to know what you meant by talking about science in Magic Insurgence?”

“Was that what I said? I don’t remember saying anything like that, but I continue any further until you answer my question first, Yuki-chan ♡.”

“Huuuu… put foreign investigations and the origin of the virus together and you'll understand.”

「With a sigh, I lent her a few hints that totally gave away everything I could have said but saving myself from doing so.」

“…Then it’s got something to do with the CEP, right?”

˹ “Political issues…? There’s no point in worrying about that. The world’s gonna end tommorow.” ˼

“Maaaaybe? Everything in the world almost has a modicum's worth of something to do with the CEP, even it's neighbors and the United States on the opposite side of the world. I've answered your question. Now Nee-san, t-e-l-l m-e!”

“Unn, I get it, I get it. Sora's gotten himself into something pretty dangerous this time. Something far more adverse than anything before isn’t it? It seems like I should be pretty worried…”

“…”

「Is Nee-san really going to stick to a tangent? It’s getting kinda boring now…」

“Okay okay, fine, I'll speak! What I wanted to do was simply do what scientists would. Like, doesn’t magical science sound like a concept from the future?? I've been wondering if we could try to come up with ideas on how it'd work.”

“Wouldn’t any technology from the future seem like magic to human civilization? It's even a famous saying.”

“One of Clarke's Laws? 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic' is among his most famous adages.”

“By definition, it might be true. But it isn’t the sort of magic that people would normally think of, especially when considering magic in a fantasy world.”

˹ “Ohhhh boy, let’s see how accurate the three of them can get. If fate really is pulling the reigns… ah! I’ll be redacting that because otherwise, you three would be cheating! Teehee! If you three are looking back through your memories, then don’t worry about Julia. She’s fine back here on Earth. Want answers? Then come find it! And don’t you dare go thinking I’m weird.” ˼

“Who knows? Maybe there might be some point in the future where people could alter the world of physics with the wave of a hand and voice incantations, then create magic the way it’s fictitiously portrayed. If magic really did exist like inside stories.”

“If magic did exist, it could explain the many mysteries of the world…”

“It really coul–…”

「Oh...

Shouldn’t have said that. I – Sonia Estella – was amazed at myself for how bluntly it came out. My eyes drew circles of disappointment as I realised the implications that one line alone had had.

Since I was the one who unceremoniously vociferated it.」

“Um… I didn’t mean it like–”

“Nn, yeah, I know. It's fine. It’s my fault for saying something so out of place like that. My bad. You can continue.”

“...”

「Was it really…?」

“Go on, please do continue, Neeeeee-san ✩.”

“Un? If you insist, then, I–”

「However, just as I was about explain...」

‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎

꧁꧂