Sisters

Aoko Aozaki stood before the antique full-length mirror in her room, adjusting her outfit.

After fastening her bow tie, she spun around on the spot, then lifted the hem of her skirt and struck the pose of a classical lady's curtsy.

The girl in the mirror was flawless: fair skin, a tall and slender frame, youthful yet voluptuous in all the right places.

Her absurdly perfect waist-to-hip ratio made her look like the idealized heroine who could only exist in certain games. It was hard to believe this was the body a fifteen-year-old girl should have.

Yet paired with those azure eyes was the beautiful face of a somewhat immature young girl. Even though she looked too young, anyone who had met Aoko would know she was anything but weak. Her resolute will could be seen in her eyes.

She gathered her fine, jet-black hair, which flowed like a pure dark waterfall, and picked up the silver hairband on the table. She tied her waist-length hair into a loose high ponytail. Naturally, she could not tie her bangs and side hair back into a slicked-back style, so she left slightly loose bangs in imitation of the hairstyle of Mai Natsume, a game character she liked from her memories.

Since my figure and face are already this ridiculously good, I might as well try those "hard-to-pull-off" hairstyles, Aoko thought.

Since she had mentioned "game characters," it meant this "Aoko Aozaki" was not the original Aoko Aozaki. But she was not quite like the people in her memories who were called "transmigrators," either. After more than a decade of repeated thought and speculation, Aoko believed she was actually some kind of "hybrid"—a new individual formed by the fusion of the original Aoko Aozaki's soul and that of a transmigrator.

She was neither of them. She was only herself.

In her memories, her "previous life" had been that of a graduate who had just earned a master's degree in electronic engineering from a prestigious university. On the way to the mountains for a graduation trip, he had inexplicably encountered a meteor falling from the sky. Amid a dazzling azure radiance, "his" wonderful life had been reset.

When "he" opened his eyes again, "he" had become "she." A new Aoko Aozaki had been born on this strange yet familiar new Earth, in this new world.

The overwhelming memories and will of an adult weighed upon the infant's tiny brain. After letting out a series of incomprehensible cries, baby Aoko Aozaki fell into a deep slumber.

When she woke again, she opened her eyes to see the tearful, overjoyed faces of a haggard middle-aged couple, as well as the infant incubator surrounding her.

Until the age of three, Aoko lived in a muddled haze, leading the life of a baby who did nothing but eat and sleep. Her meticulous logical mind was trapped deep within her soul, leaving her often half-awake and half-asleep.

Aoko's condition worried her parents greatly. However, the Aozaki family was no ordinary lineage, so Aoko's father took young Aoko to seek help from his own father, a Magician who lived in a workshop.

After examining her carefully, the old Magician gave his assessment of Aoko's condition, then went back to his work.

"She's got no problem," the old Magician said. "This child is so healthy it's disgusting. Or rather, she's too healthy. Her vitality is practically blinding me."

After making an assessment that would have baffled ordinary people, Aoko's father returned home still puzzled, but his previous worries had faded away. He understood that his father would never lie. Since that Magician had judged Aoko healthy, then she was healthy.

Sure enough, when Aoko turned three, she truly "woke up" for the first time. Feeling confused, she tried calling out to her parents in the local language.

Aoko's parents wept with joy. They even brought Aoko's older sister to her side so the sisters could meet each other.

This little girl is way too full of herself. That was Aoko's first impression of her sister, Touko. She had reddish-orange hair and wore an adorable, exquisitely fitted formal dress. Seven-year-old Touko Aozaki had been studying the alien knowledge known as magecraft in her grandfather's workshop since the age of five, and had only recently returned home to visit her family.

Touko had initially felt a trace of disdain toward her younger sister, who had only learned to speak at the age of three. But when she saw her sister as she was now, most of the malice in her mind vanished into thin air.

This little girl is far too cute, Touko thought. She's so cute that she'll surely cry if I tease her with magecraft, right?

Seeing Touko remain silent, their parents assumed their eldest daughter, who had been away from home for so long, was feeling shy. They left the room, giving their two daughters space to be alone.

Only now that she was fully awake did Aoko realize that she had transmigrated into some Type-Moon world. In her somewhat chaotic memories, after comparing the recollections of both lives, she concluded that this reddish-orange-haired little girl before her might be the future famous "Red of Pain," the Grand Puppeteer, Touko Aozaki.

And she herself was Aoko Aozaki, the Magician who would inherit the Fifth Magic.

I really came to a "wonderful place," didn't I? Calling this world disaster-ridden would be praise.

Little Aoko sighed softly, ignoring Touko's increasingly displeased gaze as she turned to look out the window. The clear sky was dotted with white clouds, and the occasional unknown bird flew past. Ever the optimist, Aoko suddenly found herself filled with anticipation for this "new world."

"Hey!" Touko's slightly displeased voice snapped Aoko back to her senses. "Since you're my little sister, you should first learn the rules between us."

With a faintly mischievous smile, Touko looked at her tiny, adorable younger sister and used the Mystic Eyes ability she had only recently mastered to cast suggestion magecraft on her.

"Bark like a dog twice, Aoko," Touko commanded maliciously. "If you do, I'll give you a present, okay?"

But to Touko's surprise, her younger sister, who had only just learned to speak and had never studied magecraft, showed no reaction at all to the suggestion magecraft cast through her Mystic Eyes. Instead, she looked at Touko as though she were filth.

"Hey, what's with that look?!" Touko Aozaki could not help getting angry. Raising her voice, she said, "Don't think there's nothing I can—"

"Waaah!!~~~"

What Touko Aozaki had not expected was for this little sister of hers, who was far too cunning for a three-year-old, to suddenly open her mouth and burst into tears. The shrill, piercing wail immediately penetrated the door and walls, reaching their parents next door. Touko panicked at once. No matter how gifted or precocious she was, she still lost her composure when faced with such an unconventional move.

A burst of hurried footsteps sounded, and the Aozaki sisters' parents opened the door and entered the room.

Their mother held the bawling Aoko in her arms, patting her back and softly comforting her, while their father looked at Touko with mild reproach.

"How could you bully your own little sister, Touko!"

Touko Aozaki was nearly going mad. She could not even say a word in rebuttal, because she really had intended to bully her little sister a little—she had simply failed.

The Aozaki sisters' mother carried Aoko out of the room. Touko saw that little brat stick her tongue out at her over their mother's shoulder, and immediately clenched her tiny fists.

That little brat definitely did it on purpose! Touko Aozaki thought angrily. But why did the suggestion magecraft fail?

However, Touko Aozaki had no time to carefully consider that anomaly now, because what awaited her next was a stern lecture from her father—the punishment for her failed prank.