A little while later, Elysia spoke in a tone of supreme, deliberate casualness. "I don't think I ever really got to be a child."
Her voice was airy and light. It sounded almost offhand.
Shiraha was silent for a long time.
Wind swept across the rooftop. Her long, loose hair carried an illusory chill.
He lowered his head and looked at the face turned up toward him, her eyes still reddened, the tip of her nose red too. Her starry eyes shimmered, then quickly half-closed.
Expectant.
Shiraha put on the smile of a perfectly sensible child, his voice softening to something exceedingly gentle. "There, there. Be good, Nee-chan. You can lean on me completely from now on."
He thought for a moment, then added, even more softly, "Completely."
This was probably the sort of thing Nee-chan wanted to hear.
He understood. He'd seen far too much of this online before his transmigration.
Elysia didn't say anything.
She simply closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth curving.
She missed Mama Serea a little. Back then, the little pink-haired dumpling didn't have to think about anything. She'd spent her days laughing and acting spoiled in the orphanage. When the sky fell, the grown-ups would hold it up.
"Let's go back, Shiraha."
It was just a shame that grown-ups weren't all-powerful either.
So Elysia didn't linger in that feeling. She opened her eyes again, clear gaze flowing with renewed light. She looked once more like the all-capable fairy lady.
"Don't you want to stay a little longer? Nee-chan doesn't need to treat me like a child. If you have any other... odd hobbies... I can play along too."
Shiraha's voice was serious. At first listen, it even sounded innocent. Elysia's face flushed pink, her elf ears twitching madly.
Such a disobedient child. A big sister doesn't have any odd hobbies!
Besides didn't mental adulthood count as adulthood?!
"Let's go back. A mature big sister wouldn't trouble a child."
"And...." Elysia paused for a very long time, her cheeks flushing even redder. "You're too small. Lying down like this gives me a guilty conscience."
Her skin was still too thin. Elysia patted her cheeks.
Forget it. So I can't touch anyone else. So be it.
Just trust in Shiraha. He said it himself just now, I don't need to treat him like a child.
Shiraha rubbed his thigh. It wasn't numb. Most of the time, Nee-chan barely gave him any sensation of weight at all. Like a dream.
He hopped off the concrete ledge. "Let's head back, then. I need to think of how to explain this to the teacher."
They were on the high school division rooftop, after all. Without running, getting back to the elementary division would take a little time.
Elysia walked ahead, hands clasped behind her back, her steps light and skipping. Occasionally she'd lean over to peek through a classroom door at the other high schoolers.
"Shiraha." Her voice drifted airily too.
"Listening."
"Do you want to become a great hero?"
Shiraha's heart stirred. Yes! So badly! He wanted the power of a great hero more than anything!
"Do you believe in me? Believe in this Nee-chan, at worst second, at best first, of the Previous Era?"
Elysia gave a little hop, spun around, and clasped her hands behind her head, walking backward without a care about bumping into anyone. Being an invisible person was just that convenient, after all.
Shiraha nodded without a moment's hesitation. "I believe you!"
Kevin might have been strong, but when it came to sheer possibilities, he really fell a little short.
Elysia put on an expression of feigned melancholy. "Then your playtime might get cut down by quite a lot from now on."
Shiraha hesitated for a moment at that. True, the next few years might not have much going on, but once he was a little older and the plot slowly began aligning with the main story, he'd be extremely busy.
"It's fine. As long as Nee-chan is with me, that's enough."
But promises were made to be broken! Being obedient for the next few years would suffice, Shiraha told himself this inwardly.
Elysia's eyes curved into crescents. So obedient. Didn't even need me to say anything too blunt.
She continued walking backward, her mood relaxed, until she noticed a hand appear in her first-person view.
That hand descended from above and landed firmly on top of Shiraha's head.
"Since when did you start learning to skip class, brat?"
Himeko's voice was helpless.
Shiraha: ....
With Nee-chan blocking his line of sight, he really hadn't noticed.
Elysia, her expression drifting and plaintive, sidestepped out of the way.
"I came to find Natasha-senpai. She promised to give me a really interesting book yesterday but to mess with me, she said I'd have to wait a few more periods. I had to wait till noon."
Shiraha's expression was crestfallen. He answered without a shred of hesitation.
Himeko blinked. That's all it was? And here she'd thought Shiraha was starting to turn into a delinquent.
Oh. Wait. That Natasha... wasn't she already a delinquent?
"Go back to class." Himeko let go of him, her tone softening. "The last two periods are PE. I can let you run two hundred meters less."
Himeko added, "Oh, right. I just checked the schedule. That kid from Class C you ran into this morning, she's in the same PE period as you."
Shiraha's expression grew even more pained. Wasn't Himeko supposed to love teasing people? Wasn't Elysia supposed to be the most reliable, the one who loved all of humanity?
Why was nothing around him the way it should be?
Why wasn't the young Himeko even a little mischievous? Why was ghost-state Elysia-nee's taste so bizarre?
"However...." Himeko crouched down, meeting Shiraha's eyes at level. "If you can sweet-talk me and put me in a good mood right here, I'll let both your little friends run two hundred meters less too."
Himeko wasn't planning to compete with Shiraha's ghost sister. As a living, breathing, beautiful young woman, she figured spending more time with Shiraha would be enough.
What was there to compete with against a patch of thin air? If a kid just spent more time around a real older sister, he'd probably slowly return to normal.
Shiraha was quiet for a moment. His expression turned intensely serious. "Then let Mei-nee and Yuna run the extra two hundred meters."
Black lines began forming on Himeko's forehead.
"You little brat..." She flicked his forehead, caught between laughter and tears. "Fine. Get back to class."
Rubbing his forehead, Shiraha followed behind Himeko, obediently trudging back toward the elementary division.
Back at the classroom, Himeko was clearly more tactful than he was. "Sorry, sensei. I had to borrow Shiraha for a little while for something."
Shiraha stood in the doorway. Mei-nee was expressionless. He shifted his gaze slightly, Elysia-nee was already perched on that familiar windowsill, her shapely legs swinging lightly. She, too, was expressionless, feigning melancholy.
Shiraha: .....
He'd barely settled back into his seat when Elysia-nee was about to say something but Mei's little paper ball came flying over first.
This time Shiraha saw it coming. She couldn't exactly catch it mid-air and toss it straight into the trash.
Shiraha glanced at Mei-nee, then at the teacher and Himeko-nee by the door. Mei still insistently pointed at the little paper ball. Why couldn't they just whisper?
[I think you're right. Dad really has been too tired lately. We should pool our allowance and buy something that'll help him de-stress. Also where'd you go when you skipped class? You didn't even take me. Lastly, Shiraha... don't you think you've been relying on your fierce ghost friend a little too much? A disgruntled stick-figure doodle.jpg]
Elysia leaned in beside him, looking at the somewhat childish handwriting on the note. It put her in a rather good mood.
So she took hold of Shiraha's hand. The note slowly began to combust on its own, yet without damaging the textbook beneath it. Finally, it crumbled into ash and scattered on the wind.
Shiraha: .....
"There. Now you can write back." Elysia let go, her voice light and breezy.
It wasn't like they could just pass one note back and forth forever. Besides, Elysia had always fantasized about passing notes like this back when she'd imagined going to school.
Such a shame she'd never actually attended.
Shiraha was quiet for a moment, then simply turned his head and whispered directly, "Mei-nee, I took a moment to investigate just now. Yuna has PE during the same period as us."
Mei paused. So he'd gone to investigate that sort of thing?
Fine, then. As long as he hadn't snuck off behind her back to go play with his fierce ghost friend.