First Day Without Gege (Part 1)

First Day Without Gege (Part 1)

At six in the morning, Shanna woke up early as usual. But unlike usual, she did not get up immediately to train. Instead, she lay motionless in bed. Since she had gone to sleep very late last night, Shanna's mind was still a little foggy after waking up.

It was only after Shanna turned over and felt the cold, damp pillow pressed against her face that she remembered what had happened yesterday.

After returning home from King's Cross Station yesterday, Shanna had hidden alone in her bedroom. Lying on her bed, she thought about every little moment she had spent with Gege, wondered what he was doing now, and before she knew it, she could not stop herself from crying.

Shanna did not know how long she had cried. She only knew that she had cried for a very, very long time before eventually falling asleep without realizing it. Fortunately, Shanna had trained with Gege since she was little, so she could now skillfully use Magic Power to do many things. Otherwise, her eyes would surely have swollen up like goldfish.

Shanna did not want anyone to know that she had hidden in her room to cry, especially not her annoying Mom. So she reached beneath her head, pulled out her pillow, and flung it hard into the air.

"Incendio!"

A burst of flame shot from Shanna's fingertips, burning the pillow in midair to ashes. Then, with a gentle wave of her hand, a fresh pillow flew out of the cabinet and settled beneath her head.

Resting on the dry new pillow, Shanna continued staring blankly into space. She did not want to move at all right now, much less train. Even if she went to the Training Ground, Gege would no longer be there.

After an unknown amount of time, a knock at the door startled Shanna awake. Without even turning her head, she could sense that Dad had entered the room while Mom stood in the doorway.

"Sweetheart, it's time for breakfast."

William looked at his little Daughter lying on the bed with her back to him, feeling both heartbroken and helpless.

'It's all that stinking Bell Kid's fault!' William frantically blamed his Son in his heart.

Of course, he only dared think it in secret. If he said it aloud, the two females in the family, one big and one small, would not let him off easily.

Hearing Dad's words, Shanna not only remained silent, but pulled the blanket over herself, wrapping herself up completely and making it abundantly clear that she did not want to talk to anyone.

"Sweetheart, get up and eat something. You didn't have dinner last night. How about eating breakfast before coming back to lie down? Or are you feeling unwell somewhere? If you are, you have to tell Dad. Dad will take you to see a doctor," William continued trying to persuade her.

Seeing her husband at his wit's end, Elena walked over. She patted him on the shoulder, then pointed her thumb toward the door.

"But..."

William looked conflictedly at his little Daughter, who was wrapped in the blanket without moving, then at his wife beside him. In the end, realizing that he really could not handle this, he could only walk out of the room while looking back every few steps, conscientiously closing the door behind him.

"You didn't train this morning, did you?"

As Elena looked at her little Daughter, her eyes were full of affection and heartache. But she quickly hid those feelings and replaced them with a slightly teasing expression.

"Looks like you don't plan on having breakfast either? Maybe you won't eat lunch, too? Though I don't really mind. In fact, wouldn't that be even better? Once your Gege sees what you look like now, he won't like you anymore. Then he'll realize, 'Compared to an immature little brat, a mature and beautiful Mom is obviously better.' Then my adorable Bell will throw himself into Mom's arms. Ha~ ha~ ha~"

Elena let out a three-part queenly laugh.

Shanna could not pretend she had not heard that. She abruptly threw off the blanket and sat up.

"Gege would never—"

Shanna felt her little head slam into something soft and springy, then her whole body was bounced back onto the bed.

(_)

Looking at the part of Mom's body that was still swaying, Shanna recalled something from many years ago.

Not long after she had gotten her wand, she had secretly slipped into Dad's study alone, intending to find a few magic books to bring back and read with Gege. She had heard Gege say that some people liked to hide magic books containing powerful magic so no one else could find them. So she had specifically looked around Dad's study for any hidden powerful magic books.

And then she found one! In a drawer of Dad's desk, she discovered a secret compartment and found a book inside.

Little Shanna had been thrilled. She could not wait to claim credit from Gege. But she had been far too curious, so she could not help opening it for a quick look first.

Looking at the book's contents, Little Shanna realized that it seemed different from what she had imagined. It was not a magic book at all.

The book was filled with big sisters who were not wearing any clothes. Little Shanna had been very curious. Why were those big sisters not wearing clothes? She really liked the pretty clothes Mom bought her and was even reluctant to take them off when sleeping.

Little Shanna did not know why, but her instincts told her that she could not show this book to Gege. So she used her newly bought wand to burn the book with a single burst of fire.

"What is that? Why don't I have one?"

After looking down at herself, Shanna somehow felt very upset.

Elena rubbed her chest where it had been struck. She had not expected such a tiny little girl to be so strong.

"This is a woman's pride. Men like this the most... and boys are no exception. When your Gege was little, he liked this part of Mom the most."

(For Bell's reputation, a brief clarification is needed here. Elena was teasing her little Daughter. And because Bell's Magic Power had gone out of control when he was young, he had never been breastfed.)

"As for why you don't have one, that's naturally because you're still a little brat. This is the symbol of a mature woman."

"I'm not a little brat! And Gege would never stop liking me! Gege likes me the most!!!"

Shanna remembered what she had been interrupted from saying just now.

"Hehe~ Little brats all say they're not little brats. But that isn't something you can change just by saying so. Whether you are or not, can't anyone tell at a glance?"

As Elena spoke, she puffed out her chest again.

Shanna looked up at the peaks, then down at the plains.

"Ah—!"

She lost it.

"How can I become like you faster!?"

To keep Gege from leaving her behind, Shanna reluctantly chose to seek help from her annoying Mom.

"Of course, you need to eat properly, sleep early and rise early, and keep exercising."

Elena revealed a fox-like smile.

"And drink more milk."

She understood her little Daughter far too well. It was incredibly easy to toy with her.

It seemed Bell's intelligence really did come from inheriting Mom's genes. Thank goodness he had not inherited Dad's foolish brain that could not think around corners.