In the room, our little Vya was still fast asleep. Elysia had tiptoed in, intending to give Vya a little surprise.
But who would have thought…
Vya was actually sleeping.
The crystal ball gifted by Eden sat on the nightstand, its glow truly beautiful.
Elysia approached the bedside and saw Vya curled up under the covers, her white-to-pink hair fanned out across the pillow, her little face flushed with sleep.
Simply irresistible~
She leaned down, her own pink locks spilling over to brush Vya's cheek. "How did you fall asleep in bed~? Did you play yourself out?"
Seeing no reaction, Elysia couldn't help but reach out and gently poke Vya's soft, plump cheek.
In her sleep, Vya scrunched up her little nose and let out a disgruntled murmur, but still didn't wake up.
"How can our little cutie be sleeping so soundly~~"
What followed was an all-out attack of kisses ^3^
Elysia's eyes curved into crescents as she decided on a more direct method to wake this little sleepyhead. She bent down and planted a light kiss on Vya's forehead. "Mwah~"
The sound was soft.
Then on the cheek. "Mwah~"
This one she made deliberately louder.
Elysia's special wake-up service, exclusively for adorable little girls.
Vya finally blinked her eyes open, still groggy. For a moment, she struggled to remember what she had been dreaming about… something about needing to look at something carefully…
But seeing Elysia's smiling face so close, she instinctively reached up with a small hand to rub her eyes, immediately casting those forgotten things aside.
"Big sister…"
Vya's voice was soft, tinged with the nasality of recent sleep.
She sat up slowly, her delight at seeing Elysia plain on her face.
"Awake now? Did you miss me?"
Elysia chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed and smoothing Vya's hair.
"Yes! So much!"
Vya perked up instantly, throwing herself into Elysia's arms, nuzzling her little face against Elysia's shoulder.
Elysia laughed at her antics, gently patting her back.
Soon after…
Elysia led Vya out by the hand.
"Big sister, where are we going?"
Vya asked curiously.
"My, we're going to meet a red-haired big sister, how about that? Excited?"
"Excited (✧◡✧)!"
She chirped, happily swinging their clasped hands.
"Vya gets to meet another new sister~"
Vya was thrilled.
And red… she hadn't seen many of those.
While Elysia meant hair color, Vya naturally assumed it referred to the light she could see.
Though… the truth was indeed just that.
Some form of entertainment was a given. Occasionally stopping by for a little drink was also Himeko's favorite pastime.
The red-haired big sister was currently sitting on a barstool.
Thinking about what to order?
Though not terribly busy lately, going out on a mission still took its toll.
Himeko and Elysia got along quite well, too. The two had some common ground in certain aspects, so conversation flowed easily.
"Himeko♪~"
"Well, Elysia, what took you so long?"
Himeko turned her head, greeting her with a teasing smile.
"Now, now, I had to go back and fetch our Vya~"
Elysia laughed, raising their linked hands slightly.
"Oh, so this is that long-lost little sister of yours. She is pretty cute."
Himeko said with a smile. She was rather fond of children.
As the captain of the 5th Squad, she'd heard her squad members talk about it. No one knew the exact truth, though several versions of the sisters' reunion story had already been concocted.
The plots were full of twists and turns, each more bizarre than the last. Who started spreading them? She was really quite curious~
"But of course, just look at whose sister she is~"
Elysia immediately puffed out her chest proudly.
"Hello, big sister~!" Vya greeted obediently, her eyes curious as she studied the red-haired woman.
A warm, red glow emanated from Himeko. Just as Elysia sister had said…
"Hello there, little one. I'm Himeko."
She bent down to meet Vya at eye level.
In situations like this, Himeko was more than willing to project the image of a gentle big sister in front of Vya. While that was indeed part of her nature…
The decisive, swift-acting captain on the battlefield was equally her.
"Hello, Himeko sister, I'm Vya~!"
"Mhm, what a good girl! How about big sister buys you a drink?"
Himeko chuckled, ruffling Vya's hair. Vya quite enjoyed the warm feeling.
"Alright, alright~ Let's sit down first."
Elysia took a seat on a stool. Vya sat next to her, but her legs weren't long enough to reach the footrest, so they dangled in the air, swinging gently…
"What'll you have?"
Himeko asked Elysia with a smile, shooting a glance at the bartender.
"Just something non-alcoholic will do~"
Elysia continued, "And Himeko, you should drink less too, you know. It's not good for your health."
"Haha, I don't actually drink that much, right?" Himeko laughed, looking to the bartender for support. The bartender tactfully averted his gaze.
"But today, since there's a little one present, could you maybe take it easy?" Elysia persuaded with a grin.
"Well now…"
Himeko glanced at Vya, who was still sitting patiently in her seat waiting, and could only sigh in resignation. "Fine, fine…"
…
Himeko had joined MOTH for certain reasons. Originally, she was just an ordinary student, and it's worth mentioning…
She was still single, and not exactly young anymore. No one knew why.
The dashing, heroic big sister type naturally had plenty of admirers. But the specific reasons for her lack of a boyfriend… well, that's not really appropriate to go into here.
…It wouldn't be good to mention things like that time she got drunk and beat someone so badly they ended up in the hospital.
After a few rounds, with cups clinking together…
Alright, fine, Himeko really didn't drink much this time.
She and Elysia chatted about recent amusing events, their hearty laughter ringing out now and then.
Vya sat quietly beside them, taking small sips of her orange juice. Though she didn't understand what the adults were talking about, seeing the two sisters so happy made her smile too…
The sisters are happy now, so Vya is happy too~
"Miss Popular, did the mission go smoothly this time?"
Himeko asked with a smile.
"But of course~ How about yours?" Elysia shot back.
"Just the few people in my squad are enough to give me headaches. When will they ever let me relax?"
Himeko swirled her glass, then downed the last little bit of liquor in one go…
Honestly, things had been a bit too quiet lately. But beneath that calm, a storm might very well be brewing…
…
I have completed the author to TL pipeline, 2 chapters per day. Advanced chapters available on patreon.
patreon.com/intraneer
Give power stones please I survive solely off of number go up.