Unexpected

My little sisters turned one.

How should I put it? Little sisters really were mysterious creatures.

It was like they understood that I was their big brother, because they were always coming over to me.

Ah... not "they." Her. Aisha.

Unlike Norn, Aisha liked to babble "Bwother, bwother" as she slowly crawled toward me, then crawl right into my arms.

Norn, on the other hand, clung more to Paul, though of course she liked me a lot too.

My usual magic research had completely stopped, turning instead into happy playtime with my little sisters.

Sylphie often came to our house to see my little sisters too, and he came today as well.

"Syl... phie... sister..." Aisha said one syllable at a time as she crawled toward Sylphie.

Sylphie crouched down and picked her up.

"Not sister. Brother," I corrected Aisha's mistake.

Aisha raised her head, looked at Sylphie, then turned to look at me.

Then, instead of admitting she was wrong, she gave me a look as if she were staring at an idiot.

Huh? Did my one-year-old little sister actually think I was stupid? Was I seeing things?

Before that illusion had faded, Aisha had already wriggled out of Sylphie's arms and crawled into mine.

I picked her up and lifted her over my head.

"Brother!"

"Yeah!"

"Brother!!"

"Yeah!!"

In short, playing with my little sister was exactly this illogical.

After all, she was only a one-year-old child. I didn't expect her to become a genius or anything.

As long as she grew up properly and didn't get hurt, that was enough...

"Rudy."

Paul's voice suddenly rang out.

"Father, what is it?"

I raised my head. Paul was holding Norn.

Norn looked very well-behaved in the crook of his arm.

Of course, Norn was also very well-behaved when she usually played with me.

"Anyway... Sylphie, look after your little sisters for a bit. You come outside with me."

Sylphie nodded.

Paul set Norn down.

"Oh..."

I gently set Aisha, who was in my arms, down as well.

Then I followed Paul out into the yard.

He was looking left and right, as if he were waiting for something.

"Hey, you. Any interest in becoming a private tutor?"

Paul crossed his arms and closed his eyes, as if making some kind of decision.

"A private tutor?"

"Yeah. Teaching a cute young lady. Of course, there's pay."

Paul... you're making a child who's only seven years old go earn money...?

To be honest, I wasn't against it. If anything, I wanted to try it. I wanted to know what Roxy had felt while teaching me.

But... what Paul was doing wasn't something a father should do.

"Father, I'm not against making money as a private tutor, but why are you asking me to go? Is the family having financial problems?"

"Maybe... there are some financial problems...? But that isn't the whole reason. Hmm... This is a promise between me and... uh, me and a friend of mine."

"Why do I have to fulfill a promise between you and your friend?"

"Please! Rudy~ Just help your dad out this once..."

Paul pressed his hands together and spoke to me with a fawning grin.

Making his own son fulfill a decision he hadn't carried out himself—Paul... and I'd only just been praising you for growing up.

A person absolutely couldn't run from their own responsibilities. I intended to make Paul understand that.

"Father..."

But before I could get the words out, Paul cut me off.

"Rudy, if a swordsman attacked you right now, do you think you'd have any chance of winning?"

"What kind of swordsman?"

"Uh... someone stronger than me... by a little?"

"Then I probably would..."

Before I finished speaking, I heard hurried footsteps.

In an instant, I cast magic and turned the entire yard, ground included, into ice. Then I quickly looked left and right, and spotted that figure.

"Father, there's an ene—"

I looked up at Paul and found that he had already vanished, while the hurried footsteps slowly drew closer.

Not good!

I stomped the floor with my foot, turning the ice where the sound came from into a mire.

After that, I immediately released lightning magic, striking toward it.

When the smoke dispersed, I saw what the enemy looked like.

It was a beastfolk, a beastfolk with silvery-white fur and wheat-colored skin.

My whole series of attacks just now did not seem to have caused her much damage, but that was normal.

I had released wide-range magic to find her position.

After confirming her position, I crouched down and observed the enemy's movements.

But the instant that figure stood up, it vanished.

My naked eye could not see where it had gone, but...

I touched the ground I had just frozen and used my mana to sense the living thing moving across the ice.

As long as she still had to step on the ice to move, then within this area, I could absolutely detect her, no matter how fast she was.

When that enemy approached right in front of me, I immediately cast ice magic to stop her, freezing both her feet.

"Who are you?!"

After barely managing to restrain her, I opened my mouth and shouted.

She did not answer my question.

"Then..."

Seeing that she did not answer my question, I immediately cast the Saint-tier wind magic Wind Entanglement Dance, slashing straight toward her neck, ready to kill her.

But... she blocked that move with her sword, and her sword was blown up into the sky because of it.

I controlled the magic that had not fully dispersed and slashed toward her neck once more.

Just then, her feet broke free of the ice magic's control, and she leaped straight into the air.

I immediately cast ice magic again, freezing both her hands, and her sword slipped from her grip as well.

A swordsman without a sword in hand was like someone facing a wild beast bare-handed.

Checkmate!

I won. You don't have any chance left...

I flatly declared victory in my heart, ready to kill her right there.

But in midair, she caught that sword in her mouth.

"Her mouth?!"

Just like that, with the sword clenched in her mouth, she charged at me in a stance that defied physics.

This was a move I had never imagined. Even Paul had never held a sword in his mouth before.

Think of something, fast!!

In that span of barely a second, I forced myself to come up with several kinds of magic.

No, there isn't enough time...

I'm... I'm going to die...

Suddenly, I felt a blow strike the back of my neck.

My vision went black.