"Darn that Laila...!!" Clarice growled as she moved Lvalti's clothes around the estate with a pout, carrying them to the laundry room, walking through the big halls.
'I...' She looked down.
'I don't really mind Lars turning himself into a girl... If that makes my brother happy, then... it's fine... It's been 3 years since then, and I've already acknowledged that he... She did it because she loves Lvalti... Loves him like I do. It's frustrates me, but I decided I won't let that stop me! But...'
She bit her lip.
'Now I feel like I'm losing!! Darn it..!! Why's she more womanly than me!?' She thought with an annoyed blush as she pictured Laila's form, mannerisms, and elegance.
'It's not fair..!! You even made them bigger than mine!' She rocked her feet in annoyance as she walked, glaring down at her chest.
'I also want to modify my body... But since I'm already a girl, that would be weird..!! And... and...' She blushed further as a memory surfaced.
✦ Flashback ✦
"Young Master," Clarice let out after placing a cup of tea on the table, as Lvalti did writing exercises on it. "Laila looks... really attractive, doesn't she?"
"Hrn... What brought this on, Clarice?" Lvalti flinched.
"I-It's just... uh... I thought to... do that myself." She blushed.
"...? Become a male?" He raised his brow and looked at her.
"N-NO! I meant... uh... make myself p... prettier. Y-You know, since I'm the servant of a noble, I need to have a better appearance, and—"
"Don't." Lvalti let out. "That'd just be weird."
"... O... Oh... Yeah," She chuckled nervously. "You're right, Young Master—"
"—I meant," Lvalti cut her off, "You can if you want. Don't take it as an order or anything. It's just..."
Lvalti looked at her with his blank stare, his gaze piercing.
"You're already pretty. There's nothing you need to change about yourself."
"...!" She gasped as her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
"O... OKAY!" She called out with her high-pitched voice.
---------------
She blushed at the memory, holding his clothes close to her chest.
'I wonder what it is about him...'
She recalled his constant, empty stare.
'Why does he look so sad all the time...? It makes my heart ache even more... I... I want to make him smile... Ahh... Lvalti... smiling... a... a... t... me...'
Her nose bled at the thought, a string of drool slipping from the corner of her mouth.
'I... decided... Today. I'll make Lvalti smile..!!'
"Smiling... at... me... oh... I might go crazy..." Another voice whispered beside her.
It was Laila, mirroring her expression with a deep blush as she stared ahead absentmindedly.
"L-Laila!? What are you doing here?" Clarice called out, startled.
"Ahh," Laila turned to her with a soft smile. "You're headed to the laundry room, right? Me too."
"Oh, but I already took all of Young Master's clothes... I don't remember leaving anything—" Clarice began, but then her eyes caught sight of Lvalti's underwear; neatly folded in Laila's hands.
".... Hahaha," Laila chuckled lightly.
"You were so absentminded you forgot about these... Were you grossed out by the Young Master's underwear?" she teased.
"D-DON'T MESS WITH ME! I'D NEVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT!! IT'S THE FIRST THING I NOTICE WHENEVER I DO LAUNDRY AND I DIDN'T SEE IT THERE!!"
Clarice shouted, blushing furiously.
"You... bastard... You took them when I wasn't looking just so you could do that yourself, didn't you!!?"
"Ara," Laila chuckled, calm and coy.
"What could I possibly achieve by taking only Young Master's underwear? You treat them as if they were some treasure..." She smiled softly.
"You can't do that, Clara. If you really intend to wed and bed Young Master, you shouldn't get so excited over a simple pair of underwear."
'She's saying that... but I see it. She's totally death-gripping those underwear!!!' Clarice stared, her eyes locked on Laila's white-knuckled grip.
"Gr..." Clarice's mind raced, until an idea struck.
"O-oh, in that case, let me carry them for you, Sis," she said with forced sweetness.
"Since I'm already carrying more clothes than you, it only makes sense I take those too. You can just..."
Laila flinched. The smile on her face cracked.
"...do something else with your precious time, right?" Clarice added with a venomous smile.
"A-ah... D-don't be ridiculous, little sister. What if these underwear... ah, mix with the other clothes? It might make them harder to wash properly."
"Ooooh? That so?" Clarice leaned in.
"So you're saying, basically, that our Young Master's underwear is really dirty then, huh?"
"Ghhk...!" Laila twitched again.
"You poor thing..." Clarice's voice turned mocking and sweet.
"Carrying something this foul and terrible for your delicate little nose. Must be awful. Well, it's not really a problem for me, so give 'em here..!"
She reached forward with one hand, holding the rest of Lvalti's laundry… while her other hand clutched tightly around his underwear.
"Really overstepping your... hrrn... boundaries, little sis," Laila growled, death-gripping the underwear as the push and pull stretched the fabric.
"Calling Young Master's underwear filthy this much... You and I both know how clean he keeps them. It doesn't even make sense—he never once soiled himself growing up, not even as a kid...!!"
Laila tugged harder, eyes narrowed.
"Then you don't need to protect me from their filthiness anymore, right, sis?!" Clarice snapped back, pulling even harder.
"You can just GIVE ME HIS UNDERWEAR since I'M GOING TO BE HIS WIFE ANYWAY...!!!"
"Hahaha, I encourage you, little sis... So let me help with these underwear—"
SWING.
A loud vruuum sound sliced through the halls like a blade of wind.
Both sisters stopped. Their eyes drifted to the window… and out into the backyard of the estate.
There he was... Lvalti, his blonde hair glinting in the sunlight, sweat glistening across his brow as he swung a wooden sword again and again.
"Young Master's… really training hard all the time, isn't he?" Laila said softly.
Clarice nodded. "He is."
Laila looked down at her sister, then back at Lvalti.
"...Do we really have to go, Laila?" Clarice asked quietly.
A beat. Laila looked to the side, then gulped.
"You know we do, Clara." She gently rested her palm on Clarice's shoulder. "We have to go back… and take revenge. Free our people. We're strong enough now. I know that."
She took a breath.
"And besides... it's not like we'd be with him even if we stayed. Young Master... he's going to the Magic Academy next week. He won't be able to take commoner servants like us with him. You know that."
Clarice flinched, biting her lip as she stared down at Lvalti.
"....."
They both went silent.
"I..." Laila began again. "I did this to myself because... I couldn't accept it, you know?"
Her voice trembled.
"Accept myself. Even more than that... I did it because I couldn't accept that Lvalti wouldn't fall for me unless I was a girl like you."
She looked at her hands.
"I thought... I didn't really mind that much, if it meant making him happy..." Her fingers curled into her palms.
"But I was deluded. Impulsive. I didn't consider that he'd end up leaving. That... sometimes, even when you want something deeply, it may never come true."
"Right..." Clarice murmured, eyes low. "Young Master... he's probably going to meet someone amazing there, right? He's... going to forget all about us. Especially since we can't visit him."
"I..." Clarice started, then hesitated as a memory surged.
✦ Flashback ✦
"Hmm... no, you're not supposed to write it like that," Lvalti's voice came from her side as he examined what she'd written.
She flinched slightly, watching as Lvalti's hand reached toward hers.
He then gently placed his palm over hers, guiding her. He was only seven at the time, yet moved with the maturity of an adult. She was eight.
"Here," he said softly. "You write it like this. Don't worry if you get it wrong again. We've got lots of time."
His voice was steady, his expression blank.
She gasped softly at his gentleness.
----------------------------
'Back then…' Clarice thought, clutching her chest,
'I thought that... maybe he was that gentle because he meant what he said. That we just had that much time to make mistakes...'
'But when I looked into his empty eyes... I felt how sad he was. I felt... that maybe he also wanted to be treated that way.'
'And later, I decided I'd be the one to give him that. I wanted to see him smile... Someone who gave me and Laila a new life, a second chance. I wanted to repay him, at least...'
'And before I noticed, that's all I wanted.'
'...Even more than revenge.'
'It made my heart ache. I longed for his smile. Just how vibrant it could be, if he already shines brighter than the sun to me...?'
'But... Lvalti... I... We can't stay here anymore...'
'You're going away...'
'I... We... wanted to be with you.'
'But maybe that was just a fleeting dream.'
She pursed her lips with a sniffle.
"Tonight," Laila let out quietly, "Tonight, we'll head out. To the hidden Sparlaton village... and free them."
Clarice nodded with a quiet sob as she turned around and walked with Laila toward the laundry room.
Meanwhile, Lvalti...
"When I've got nothing better to do..."
SWING.
The sound of wind being cut echoed through the courtyard.
'I train.' Lvalti moved his sword again and again, sweat dripping into his eyes as the hot sun beat down on him.
'It may seem like I'm just swinging a sword. But since I've got no system to guide me in this world, I have to get familiar with its mechanics...'
He sharpened his gaze and looked ahead.
'That's right.'
'I need to be able to use magic. The same way everyone else does.' He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
'In both this world and the previous one, it works on the same principle at its core. Within all living things, there's energy... I can feel it. It's blue. You output magic by channeling this energy and emitting it through your hand. And in this world, being a mage is the best thing for a person. You're basically a walking calamity if you get the hang of it...'
He flinched as the memory of his death surfaced.
SWING.
'But even as a walking calamity... you can get destroyed by someone who can brute force their way through your spells. No. I won't make that same mistake again. Being a mage isn't what I aim for anymore.'
'But... magic is powerful. That much I know. So then, the best way to cover both defense and offense is this...!'
His eyes widened with intensity as he swung again—this time, a surge of water burst from the hilt, enveloping the blade, splashing forward.
"Haaah...!! Hah...!" He breathed heavily.
'A magic swordsman.' He decided.
'In this world, it's the most underrated thing. You're physically built and protected, while also strong in magic... The tricky thing with magic swordsmen is that it's so incredibly difficult to accomplish that most people never try. Those who do usually get stuck at the bottom of the food chain. The reason for that is the sheer nature of it.'
'...Not a single person can activate magic while also reinforcing their muscles at the same time efficiently. It's like looking in two directions at once...'
"Young Master's got quite the magic reserves, training this much..." Other servants walking nearby murmured among themselves as they watched Lvalti.
"But he chose to be a magic swordsman..? He'll have a really rough time at the academy. I hope they won't be too harsh on him..."
"He's a kid, after all. He'll probably realize it's a mistake and switch to being a mage. Don't worry about Young Master! He's really smart, you know?"
'But I'll break through it...'
Lvalti thought to himself, ignoring the chatter.
'I'll break through that wall. I'll evolve... somehow!'
Then, the image of his killer flashed through his mind.
'The way that BASTARD did...! I'll... surpass you...!! I'll get acknowledged by everyone!'He gritted his teeth, swallowing hard as the phantom heat of that final, fatal blast returned to his senses.
'That way... no one will be able to use me.'
'Not only do I prevent myself from getting stomped and thrashed around, since humans immediately ride on your ass the moment they smell a hint of weakness, but also, if I make myself useful... I'll be loved more.'
SWING.
SWING.
'My parents might be nice, but I'm sixteen now. And next week, I'll start attending the magic academy. No matter how kind they seem... they want results. I learned to read and write by three years old, and ever since then—'
'They've been waiting, for sure. Waiting for me to repay their care. Their love. Their investment. Humans don't give without expecting a return...'
'They want a reward for their trouble. That's how humans are..!'
The image of a certain goddess flashed through his mind. A goddess from the previous world he died in.
'If I don't meet those expectations...'
He clenched his teeth. The image of his past life's mother, throwing a booze bottle at him, flashed behind his eyes.
Then came the disappointed gaze of the goddess - the one who had used him, then left him behind.
'I'll get thrown away. And stomped on. That's the truth of it.'
SWING.
'Swing more...!!'
Then, briefly, he lost focus. Two images flashed in his mind—Laila and Clarice; their warm smiles.
"Haah... Haaah..." He breathed heavily, his stance faltering.
'I...'
He looked down.
'I only picked you two up on a whim. I don't even remember why I did it... You're just... someone I used to feel better.'
'You're probably the same as everyone. Like cats. If I didn't have anything to offer, you'd go to the next person in line. So...'
'...Why do I see you, then?' He wiped the sweat from his brow, then dropped his wooden sword to the ground.
'Why are you there whenever I think about my past lives..?'
'...Damn it. I've used up all my magic... Haah.'
'Guess I'm done for today.'