After the exams were over.
I brought Aisha and Norn back home.
The exams were written tests.
They weren't tailored to the applicants' ages.
A standard entrance exam combining general knowledge with the six basic types of magic.
Open to all ages, huh.
That was different from when I took it.
Well, obviously.
Aisha scored a perfect mark.
The Millis faith had somewhat different customs here, which meant there were gaps in general knowledge too.
And yet she got a perfect score.
Not a single thing to complain about.
Genus told me that if she could do this at ten, she could become a special student with a few conditions.
Of course, the promise I'd made with Aisha was something else entirely.
"Okay then, just like I promised, I'll serve onii-chan from now on!"
Aisha declared this triumphantly the moment we got home.
Her expression was absolutely brimming with pride.
"So you mean… become our family's maid? Even though you're family?"
"Nope. Not the family's. I'm going to be onii-chan's maid!"
Her dream for the future: onii-chan's maid.
What was I supposed to make of that?
I couldn't shake the feeling it was a bit twisted.
But a promise was a promise.
"Alright. Then you listen to whatever I say."
"Yes! I look forward to working with you, Master!"
Master — that had a nice ring to it.
If it weren't my own little sister saying it, I might have gotten pretty excited.
Even though I have a loving wife and all.
"That said, if there's ever anything you think you need to learn, don't hesitate to ask."
"In that case, it would be wonderful if Master could teach me personally…"
Aisha pressed a finger to her lip and gave me a sly sidelong glance.
Was she hoping I'd teach her something naughty?
If she ever said something like "Onii-chan… teach me how to make babies," I'd teach her proper sex ed.
Of course, completely stripped of any eroticism.
"So, what's with this 'Master' thing?"
"I'm going to be serving you, so I need to draw a proper line."
Oh my, formal speech.
"Not allowed to just call you onii-chan like always?"
"It would blur the line between public and private."
A perfect score, and she knew fancy words too.
Fair enough.
Sylphie might give me weird looks though.
She'd earned a perfect score, so I'd let her do as she pleased.
"Got it. For work stuff, talk it over with Sylphie and decide together."
"Yes. I've already learned maid work from Mother. Please leave it to me."
Aisha said this, then stood up, clasped her hands in front of her, and bowed deeply.
The birth of a little-sister maid.
A little-sister maid.
What a heartwarming-sounding phrase.
Though, back in my previous life, staying home from school and helping around the house was called "housework help."
---
As for Norn, her grades weren't particularly impressive.
According to Genus, she was slightly below average for her age, which wasn't bad.
That said, when compared to Aisha, it was hard to call it anything close.
Well, she'd spent a year traveling and had barely any time to settle down before the exam. There was no helping it.
She probably would have appreciated at least some opportunity to review and prepare beforehand.
No need to rush. She'd grow from here.
Even if she never became the best, as long as she could function at a normal level in the end, there'd be no problem.
That's just how human society works.
You don't have to be exceptional. Average is fine.
"Norn, which department are you interested in?"
"…"
Norn didn't answer.
She kept her gaze lowered, face tight with irritation, refusing to look my way.
She still hadn't forgiven me for whatever I'd done.
I wanted to close the distance between us a bit more.
But how to go about it?
"I'm not that familiar with the departments myself, but…
I think the first two or three years are general coursework before you can choose a specialization.
At this school, there should be some pretty interesting classes available.
How about attending for a few years and seeing if something catches your interest? If nothing else, specializing in healing magic wouldn't be a bad option.
Mom was a healing magic practitioner, after all. And there aren't many healers around here, so you could work at a clinic or hospital."
"…"
With no reply, I just kept rambling on.
Then I noticed Norn looking at me.
Her eyes held something she wanted to say.
I fell silent.
"…I want to try living in the dorms."
Norn said this in a small, tense voice.
I chewed on her words.
"Dorm life, huh…"
Rejecting her outright would be easy.
But let me think about this seriously.
After all, Norn had mustered the courage to ask.
First: a ten-year-old girl living on her own.
That was too young, no matter how you looked at it.
But a dorm wasn't the same as living alone.
It was generally a two-person room.
Norn had come here knowing almost no one.
She had no friends.
Living in the dorms might help her make some.
There'd be some age-related issues, sure, but there were plenty of kids at that school who had been living in the dorms alone since they were even younger.
The dorms had fairly clear rules and were a safe environment.
Being ten didn't mean she'd be inconvenienced.
I wanted to get closer to her, but the way things were going, even narrowing the physical distance seemed like it would only push the emotional distance further apart.
In my previous life, I'd holed up in my parents' house the entire time.
I rejected everything and shut myself in.
My family had tried all sorts of things to reach me — tempting me with expensive things, bringing me delicious food, painting bright futures with honeyed words.
Each time, my heart only retreated further from them.
It felt like being treated like an animal.
Rather than living under the same roof, seeing each other every day, and constantly reading each other's moods — maybe it was better to have a little distance and watch over each other from afar.
The important thing was being able to look at each other calmly.
Aisha had a natural tendency to look down on Norn.
I'd told her to be careful about that, but she didn't seem to be aware of it, which made it a more deep-seated problem.
It would take a long time to fix.
Being looked down on by Aisha at home, and having to face the brother she disliked every day…
I wasn't aiming for the top, but in the eyes of the world, I passed as exceptional.
The pain of growing up surrounded by exceptional siblings…
She might run away from home.
I knew how runaway girls ended up.
They'd fall for the wrong guy, and he'd demand all sorts of things in exchange for a place to stay.
It would be better to put her somewhere safe from the start.
Besides, Sylphie was at the dorms.
She came home once every three days, but conversely, that meant she was at the dorms two out of every three days.
If anything happened, she'd be able to step in right away.
Fortunately, Norn didn't seem to dislike Sylphie.
Maybe that first day — the time they'd seen each other naked — had left an impression.
Yeah, now that I thought about it, it was actually a pretty good proposal.
Dorm life starting at age ten.
She'd learn cooperation and social skills.
"Got it. Norn, you should live in the dorms then. I'll put in the application."
"Whaaat?! Onii-chan?!"
The one who cried out in surprise was Aisha.
She was looking at me as if she couldn't believe it.
"Why?! Norn didn't even get good scores!"
The maid-like speech she'd been using had completely broken down.
"Aisha…"
"I worked so hard! It's so unfair that Norn gets to!"
This wasn't a matter of fair or unfair.
But from Aisha's perspective, it might look like favoritism.
She'd studied her hardest and earned a perfect score to have her wish granted.
She'd probably reviewed and prepared over this past week.
In secret, where I couldn't see.
Norn hadn't done anything.
And yet Norn had her wish granted too.
That was unfair. That was favoritism.
What would my parents have said in my previous life when this kind of situation came up?
I couldn't remember.
Something about being obedient, listening to what you're told — I vaguely recalled that kind of thing.
Had I accepted it then?
I hadn't.
What about Aisha?
Would she accept it said that way?
She wouldn't.
No, she was a bright kid.
If I explained my thinking, she'd understand.
Or was I being presumptuous?
Either way, I'd try.
"Aisha, I'm not just giving in to Norn's selfishness.
I thought living in the dorms would be good for her."
"But—"
"Norn doesn't know anyone here, and… well, it's not my place to say, but she and I don't exactly get along.
Over this past week, it looked like she was suffocating."
"But Dad said we should live together with onii-chan…"
Hmm.
Hearing that made me feel like I ought to keep Norn at home after all.
No, that wasn't right.
It wasn't like obeying everything was a good thing.
Paul made plenty of mistakes.
I couldn't be certain my judgment was correct either.
"Of course, I'm not abandoning my responsibility to look after you both.
But staying like this isn't good for Norn either, and living in the dorms might give her something valuable."
"…………"
Aisha hung her head.
For some reason, tears were pooling in her eyes.
"…Is it because you favor Norn because my mom is a concubine?"
Out of nowhere, Aisha said this.
Concubine.
Hearing that word—
I instinctively knew this was bad.
"A concubine? You mean Lillia?
Aisha, who told you that?
Dad?
Or — no way, did Norn say that?"
"Mom, and… Norn's grandmother…"
Tears began spilling from Aisha's eyes.
Lillia and Norn's grandmother — that meant Zenith's parents' side of the family.
I could understand why Lillia would say it.
She kept a step back from both me and Zenith.
She always tried to maintain her position as a maid.
So it was only natural she'd expect Zenith's daughter to keep a step back as well.
Paul would treat everyone equally, but that didn't make them equal.
Zenith's family were aristocrats.
I believed they were quite an old and distinguished line.
My aunt Terese wasn't a bad person.
But not everyone in the family would necessarily be so easygoing about status.
After all, they had reason to dote on Zenith's daughter — but no particular reason to dote on Lillia's.
They weren't even blood-related.
Neither side was to blame.
That was simply how their culture worked.
"Is it because… I'm only half-related to you… hic…"
But of course a child wouldn't be hurt by that.
Aisha's face scrunched up and she started hiccupping.
I may have been a bit off base.
Aisha had her own difficulties.
"I don't think of Lillia as a concubine, and I consider both you and Norn to be equally my sisters."
"But… I studied, and tried so hard, and took the exam, and Norn…"
Aisha said this between sobs.
So she really had studied.
With only a week until the exam.
She'd wanted to get a good score…
"Aisha."
"What?"
"I might not be able to make you understand with words alone, but I recognize your effort. That's why I agreed to let you not go to school."
"But Norn gets to live in the dorms…"
The wet sniffle from Aisha tugged at my heart.
But this wasn't favoritism.
"I made my judgment on a case-by-case basis.
For example, if right now you said you wanted to go to school, wanted to live in the dorms — I'd approve it.
On the other hand, if Norn said she didn't want to go to school and wanted to stay home and do housework, I wouldn't allow that.
Because you earned a perfect score on the exam."
At this, Aisha pursed her lips and fell silent.
Then,
"………………Fine."
She still looked displeased.
But in the end, she nodded.
Norn watched all of this with a sour expression.
But I thought I could see some of the background now.
Zenith's side of the family had looked down on Aisha for being the child of a concubine.
And Aisha had pushed herself to prove she wouldn't lose to Norn.
Paul surely hadn't discriminated between them…
But it seemed my two sisters had developed a twisted relationship behind my back.
There were no more aristocrats around now.
No one would look down on Aisha.
If I treated her properly, time would heal things eventually.
"One condition, though.
Norn. Come visit this house at least once every ten days."
At this, Norn frowned.
"…Why?"
"Because I'm worried about you."
Also, I had a responsibility as her guardian.
"She's in the dorms, leave her alone — I couldn't face Paul if that was how it went."
"…Fine."
Norn nodded, albeit reluctantly.
---
A new life with both sisters now in the picture began.
I put in a dorm application for Norn and had everything prepared for her enrollment.
I told Sylphie too, asking her to please keep an eye on things if anything happened at the dorms.
"You're sending Norn-chan away?"
Sylphie's tone carried a hint of reproach.
For her, the best thing would probably be to keep Norn at home and take care of her in every way.
I could see the appeal in that too.
But after seeing what had happened recently, I didn't think that was the best option.
I explained this to Sylphie.
"It might be better not to keep Aisha and Norn together.
There was talk of concubines and all sorts of things. I'm not pushing Norn away — I'm just putting a little distance between them because they got too close, too fast."
"Mm… is that so… Got it. I'll try to look after Norn-chan as much as I can too."
Sylphie nodded readily.
I hoped things would turn out for the better.
---
Aisha became our household's maid.
She was outstanding.
Since Aisha took over the housework, Sylphie's burden was significantly lightened.
Aisha handled all the cleaning.
The laundry too.
She'd taken over my role.
I could no longer sniff or nuzzle Sylphie's used underwear.
I had to accept it, come to terms with it, and move forward.
Grocery shopping and cooking were the one area where Sylphie held firm — she handled those herself.
Aisha helped out.
Beyond that, she took care of things I hadn't even thought of — arranging chimney sweeps, introducing ourselves to the neighbors.
She really was outstanding.
She made no noticeable mistakes and had no shortcomings.
She must have been working hard behind the scenes where I couldn't see.
Aisha was serious about being a maid.
She'd cast off the mask of a little sister and worked behind an iron face.
The result of Lillia's training, perhaps.
She'd handled things around the house for the most part, and when we came home, she'd help Sylphie prepare meals, help me get the bath ready, lay out fresh clothes while Sylphie and I were bathing, then brush and style Sylphie's hair afterward.
On nights when Sylphie had a shift, she'd bundle her up and send her off with "Ma'am, have a safe journey."
Sylphie looked somewhat flustered by all this.
Watching the two of them was genuinely enjoyable.
When a guest came, Aisha would attend to them as well.
That said, the only guest in the past few days had been Nanahoshi.
She'd come to express her thanks once more.
When she offered to prepare something in return, I put in an order for some useful summoning magic circles.
Apparently she'd pass them along with explanations when we advanced to the second stage of experiments.
To Nanahoshi, Aisha was extraordinarily attentive — preparing the bath, laying out clothes, even helping her wash her body.
Nanahoshi seemed quite bothered by it all.
On her way out, she made some cutting remark about how exploiting a little sister was the act of a scoundrel.
For Nanahoshi, the bath was perhaps something that had to be solitary, luxurious, and fulfilling.
From now on, I'd tell Aisha to leave Nanahoshi alone if she came for a bath.
After meals, Aisha fussed over me as I lounged in the living room.
Checking the fireplace, bringing me warm drinks.
I wondered whether being taken care of by one's little sister was really appropriate.
But Aisha seemed happy doing it.
I'd let things stay this way for a while.
I wouldn't force anything.
Then I remembered the principle that if you had children use magic from a young age, their total mana capacity would increase.
If Aisha wasn't going to school, she should at least train her mana.
At ten, the growth wouldn't be enormous, but the potential wasn't zero either.
While I was at it, she should be able to use intermediate-level offensive magic at least.
Beginner-level was fine for getting by in life, but intermediate was the most practical in actual combat.
"Aisha, come here. I'm going to teach you magic."
"Onii-chan is going to teach me?!"
Aisha looked delighted.
When her emotions ran high, her speech patterns slipped.
She still had a ways to go before reaching Lillia's level.
"Just in case. Even if you don't want to—"
"Why wouldn't I want to?!"
With that, Aisha hopped right into my lap.
How cute.
"Please!"
And so Aisha began learning magic from me.
That said, she already knew the basics.
It wasn't that she hadn't retained it — if she read a magic textbook, she'd probably pick up intermediate-level stuff quickly.
Incidentally, she couldn't do incantationless casting.
At ten, it was still too early, as expected.
For the time being, I made it a rule for her to use magic every day until she ran dry.
At night, Aisha would slip into my bed.
"Onii-chan, can I sleep with you?"
After the recent incident, I'd gone soft on Aisha.
Well, sleeping together was fine.
"Of course. Come here."
I let her in without complaint.
Aisha's body was smaller than Sylphie's, and her body temperature ran high.
In this cold region, she made a perfect cuddle buddy for warmth.
Of course, nothing sexual happened.
Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for anything like that.
She hadn't even finished going through puberty.
She seemed to have the knowledge, but in terms of actual desire, she was still a long way off.
There was nothing to feel guilty about.
Well, if Aisha ever did develop desires toward me, I'd just have to let her down gently.
I wasn't about to lecture anyone about the immorality of incest or anything.
I just didn't want to break the family bond.
---
Now, Sylphie's days away were one thing.
The problem was the days she wasn't on night shift.
The nights I shared with Sylphie once every three days.
With my sisters around, I'd planned to hold back for a while.
But the thought of a defenseless girl sleeping right next to me — there was no way I could hold out.
No, realistically, I should have been able to.
If I just took care of things myself.
But Aisha was always clinging to me inside the house.
I couldn't exactly take care of business at school.
And doing it alone when I had a wife felt like such a waste.
So, trapped between one problem after another, I'd let things build up.
This young, virile body — if I went a whole week without release, I was on the verge of explosion.
And now a cute girl was sleeping right beside me.
Moreover, this girl had no objections to anything — full green light across the board.
She even said brave things like "I'll work hard to have your babies!"
It made holding back feel utterly pointless.
"Hah…"
In the end, we went at it way too hard.
I'd locked the door, at least, and reinforced the soundproofing with earth magic.
…I could only pray Aisha wasn't peeking.
"Rudy was incredible today…"
Afterwards, Sylphie lay there looking languid.
Her hair was slightly mussed and damp with sweat, giving her a disheveled beauty.
We'd finished our sweet post-coital chat, wiped ourselves down with damp towels, and now sat on the bed in our loungewear.
The loungewear was made of soft fabric — a rather plain-looking outfit.
Less like sweats, more like tracksuits.
"It's not very sexy, is it?" Sylphie had said, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Sylphie's charm seeped through precisely in an outfit like this.
It was like a track-and-field girl sitting on the bed.
The very lack of sexiness is what accelerated the excitement.
Wabi-sabi, so to speak.
If she'd been wearing something like Eris's black negligee, or the provocative outfit Elinalize used to wear, or if she had a voluptuous body like Linia or Pursena — it wouldn't have the same effect.
Sylphie looked best in things that weren't sexy.
"…"
"Hm? What, Rudy?"
Before I knew it, I was stroking Sylphie's slender body from behind.
What a nice body.
Not a lot of curves, but not flat either.
Not much fat, yet somehow soft.
Just holding her like this was enough to make my lightning rod point upward.
"Um… do you want to go again?"
"No, Sylphie, you work tomorrow. I'll hold back. Just let me squeeze a bit in the morning — that'll satisfy me."
"Geez. You don't have to hold back, you know. Here."
Sylphie flopped onto her back on the bed.
And spread both arms toward me.
"It's okay, Rudy. Come here."
She said this with a bashful, embarrassed smile.
My restraint collapsed in an instant.
Restraint? What restraint?
I clasped my hands together, stripped off my clothes in one motion, and dove toward Sylphie.
Nights were like that.
---
Now then.
As for Norn — she'd been well-behaved during the few days it took to finalize her dorm preparations.
She didn't say much to me in particular.
Not that her attitude was bad.
If I asked her to do something, she did it, and she listened to what I said.
But if asked whether we were getting along — that was complicated.
I wanted to deepen my bond with Norn.
So at one point, I invited her: "How about we take a bath together?"
A way to bond through openness.
"…No."
But Norn refused with a look of absolute disgust.
In her place, Aisha volunteered: "Oh, I'll join you!" — and she even scrubbed my back and gave me a massage.
Aisha really could handle anything.
Being that good at washing and everything — she'd make a fine soapland girl.
Not that I'd want her to become one.
---
Norn's dorm enrollment was finalized within a few days.
Her roommate turned out to be a fourth-year student.
Same year as Nanahoshi.
If only she'd been a fifth or sixth-year — at least she'd have had some social connections.
The roommate was a girl with a parrot-like crest, resembling a cockatoo.
Her feathers shifted and chirped in response to her emotions.
A beastkin, bird-type. Or maybe a demon race.
Her name was Melissa.
She didn't seem to have any bad reputation.
This school had plenty of half-bloods and quarter-bloods.
I needed to make sure Norn didn't make any discriminatory remarks.
I should at least have her go say hello.
Thinking this, I approached with a smile — and she recoiled in fear.
I couldn't even get a word in.
The sheer terror in her eyes…
Maybe I should keep the fact that Norn was connected to me under wraps at school.
I was treated like the school bully here.
If that scared people off and she couldn't make friends, it would be a shame.
Though honestly, I wanted to believe things would work out without me worrying too much.
Being overly protective and micromanaging everything would be too much.
If it came down to it, I'd rely on Sylphie, Luke, and Ariel.
Those three were popular at school.
With those three, people would naturally gather around.
Being in a crowd would naturally help her develop social skills and make friends.
Then again, those three might attract jealousy instead.
No, no — being tossed around by the rough waves of life was part of growth too.
Hmm.
This was hard.
Socializing was really hard.
Either way, this was something Norn would have to handle herself.
Until something actually happened, I probably shouldn't interfere too much.
I'd keep watch for now.
But oh, I was worried.
Should I have her commute from home after all?
The day I sent Norn to the dorms.
I gave Norn, who was wearing her uniform with her bag in hand, a few final instructions.
Follow the rules at the dorms.
Study hard.
If you encounter demon race students, don't discriminate against them.
There was a lot I wanted to say, but I couldn't expect her to remember it all.
"Norn, if anything troubles you at school, come talk to me or Sylphie."
At the very least, I wanted to make sure she knew that.
"Yes."
Norn answered without meeting my eyes.
Would there ever come a day when she and I could get along?
I was anxious.
"Also, make sure to brush your teeth properly when you wake up and before bed."
"Yes."
I should mention that too.
"Take regular baths."
"Yes."
That too.
"Do your homework."
"…Yes."
Right, and there were illnesses to worry about.
"Don't catch a cold."
"…"
She gave me an incredibly annoyed look.
Yeah, I was still a little worried after all.