The Sisters’ Commonality(2)

She had no life.

She had put the hopeful thing called freedom in a box in her heart and locked it with a lock named order.

As her reason for existence was to quietly breathe and keep orders in the most beautiful prison in the world, she started a race without an end as soon as she was born.

During the run, she desperately wanted to give up on that indefinite order, but she couldn’t because she was born for it.

She really wanted to sit down so many times and wanted to break the prison so many times.

But because she couldn’t, the only joy for her, who was rotting in prison forever, was a single book.

Because it was the only medium that showed the outside world in a prison where all doors were closed, she depended on the book.

She observed the lives of countless lives and shared the end of countless lives.

When she came to her senses, she always vomited at the same prison scenery, but each time, she opened the book again and sent her mind outside.

A single book that connected with the outside and conveyed small and trivial happiness. Like a thin silk thread.

She lived spending eons of time with that book, became aware of emotions, and learned about life.

She believed that even if it was a lonely race without a visible finish line, if she had the book, if she had the emotions gained from the book, she could keep running.

More precisely, she hoped she could keep running.

That was the small wish of the homunculus who had been created and lived as a librarian.

But the goddess cruelly took away that hope without leaving a single grain.

“I forbid you from reading books from now on. You just need to guard the books forever, in accordance with your role.”

A single twisted ankle takes everything away. The goddess’s words pierced the librarian’s heart like a sharp awl.

Although she didn’t even have a heart to be pierced, an even stronger pain and sorrow throbbed and was felt.

“Are you going to take even that away?”

Are you taking away even the only support that sustained me in this hellish eternal prison?

She wished that the one who called herself her mother, who had created her, would just say it was a lie, but all that came back was cold silence and icy eyes.

Is that how you’re satisfied, by taking away everything that could be called mine?

Because she gave emotions without giving life.

Time, which should have had no meaning for the homunculus guarding the library, passed through.

Therefore, the lock that locked the box containing freedom became old and rusty as a long time passed.

And so the lock that the single book had been fragilely holding onto fell as the goddess ruthlessly took away the book, opening the closed box.

It returned freedom to the homunculus.

The librarian opened her eyes inside the library left alone after the goddess disappeared.

“No, I suppose I can’t be called a librarian anymore.”

Because Iriel was omniscient about what she didn’t create but ignorant about what she did create, the blonde woman sitting in the library without any surveillance softly muttered.

The role of librarian she had from birth.

Because she had thrown it away as of this moment, it no longer had any meaning for her.

From now on, she was just a nameless homunculus.

The blonde woman who stood up from her seat hugged the book she had been ordered to guard by the goddess and opened the door of the library.

Opening the prison door she had never intended to open, she set out on a journey to find a human remaining in her last memory.

---

As the large sports field where the archery class was held and the large sports field where the magic class was held were on opposite sides, it took considerable time to walk there.

About 15 minutes or so.

It was the time it took to walk slowly, matching the pace of ordinary observers, through Lua Academy, which is counted among the largest in the Puhara Kingdom.

Along the way, Haran and Rimia, who were overflowing with physical strength, showed signs of frustration at the slow pace, but fortunately, thanks to Helestin’s and Mira’s restraint, it didn’t explode.

And so, after various twists and turns, they arrived at the large sports field where the magic class was taking place.

As Mira, who was standing at the front, stopped, the group following behind and Rimia and Helestin’s also stopped their steps.

The large sports field that came into view as they stopped walking.

However, Rimia let out a questioning sound at the large sports field that came into view as she turned her head.

The strangeness that could be understood the moment she looked around the large sports field. It was none other than the sight of the large sports field completely empty without a single student.

“…Why is there no one here? Isn’t it already past the time for class to start?”

Rimia said this while looking up at the clock on the academy’s central tower.

Of course, Rimia wasn’t the only one who expressed such doubts. Other nobles also expressed doubts about the empty large sports field, just like Rimia.

After all, it was already 5 minutes past the start of class time, so they couldn’t help but express doubts about the empty sports field as if there was no class.

And the answer to this came from Mira, who was standing at the front, knocking on the air as if knocking on an invisible door.

“It’s an invisibility barrier. As expected, it seems they’re having quite a dangerous class inside.”

Ching── Ching──

A clear sound rang out each time Mira knocked on the air as if striking a triangle.

Given that Mira had just named it, even Rimia, who was close to being ignorant about magic, could understand what this invisible wall was.

Invisibility. Literally, a barrier that makes things invisible.

It seemed that while they were probably having a normal class inside, the reason nothing could be seen from this side was because of that.

“But why have an invisibility barrier during class?”

Professor Meiel would surely know that observers were coming to watch the class today. So why on earth did she put up a barrier to hide themselves?

Judging from Mira’s words, it seemed to be because they were having a class that could cause harm to the surroundings, but just saying that didn’t give any idea of what kind of class it was.

“As I said earlier, I’ll say it again. Please make sure not to come out of the curtain under any circumstances. If you come out of the curtain, we cannot take responsibility. Now then, I’ll open it.”

Mira reiterated what she had said when they left after the archery class ended earlier.

Hearing such warning-filled words only made curiosity swell even more.

Rimia lightly stroked the curtain of Mira enveloping her to confirm that it was definitely activated, and then followed behind Mira as she opened and pushed aside the barrier as if lifting a curtain.

Mira entering first, followed by the other nobles. Following behind them, Rimia stepped into the barrier along with Helestin’s.

“They really were all inside.”

Then the sight of students filling the large sports field, which had not been visible outside the barrier, came into view.

“Hmm? What are they all looking at?”

“Oh, that person floating in the air over there must be Professor Meiel.”

“More importantly, they’re all forming a shield…”

Students maintaining a shield while looking up at the sky.

At that sight, everyone turned their eyes following that gaze without exception, and as they were about to raise their eyes, they pointed to the figure of a dark blue-haired girl wearing a robe and hat that came into view.

That must be the one called Meiel.

Rimia felt doubt rising again at the appearance so different from Kama’s, but soon shook her head and raised her gaze even higher.

What the students were looking up at was even higher, even higher than where Meiel was floating.

What Rimia wanted to confirm now was not Meiel, but what on earth the students were looking at.

Therefore, Rimia raised her gaze towards the sky to the point where her neck was stretched straight, and.

“Ah.”

“Ah?”

She uttered a short sound almost simultaneously with Mira, who had looked up at the sky at the same time as her.

“That’s…”

“Oh my goodness…”

“…A giant?”

And along with their short sounds ringing out, the voices of those who belatedly looked up at the same place as the two of them rang out.

Intense flames filling the edge of the sky with red.

Anyone would be dumbfounded at the sight of a giant’s foot falling while wrapped in such flames.

Kugugugugugu─────

The flame giant’s foot, shaking the atmosphere, gradually starting to fall towards the ground, towards the shield the students were maintaining.

And then, looking at Meiel’s face, which had noticed this side a step late but still had a calm expression, Rimia could understand what Helestin’s had meant when he spoke to her.

‘The commonality of these sisters.’

It was that they were obviously weirdos at first glance.

Rimia was convinced that the commonality Helestin’s had spoken of was clearly that they were a crazy family who didn’t know what a normal class was.

And at the same time as having such thoughts, a huge explosion and wave of flames filled Rimia’s vision.

---

The huge explosion that occurred as the flame giant’s foot collided with the students’ shield.

The incident where the observers were almost swept up in the explosion of this magic I had cast fortunately passed without problem thanks to the curtain Mira had put on the observers in advance.

Most of the observers were surprised, but after calming down, they praised me saying it was amazing magic, and since there was no one who got angry or scolded me, I was able to continue the class after just receiving a light scolding from Mira.

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“Everyone reconstruct the shield again…”

Today is the day for defensive magic class.

This meant that I had to keep dropping magic on the students’ shield, so I put an artifact shield on the observers instead of Mira’s tattered curtain in the corner, checked all the observers once, and only then called out to the students.

At my words, the students began to fill in the shield that had been partially broken by the earlier attack.

“Hm…?”

As I was waiting for the students to fill in the shield, I tilted my head at the sight of Shati standing inside the shield with an uncomfortable face, unlike usual.

The usual Shati would surely have had her characteristic cool and relaxed expression, but the current Shati had an expression like a puppy that needed to poop.

The sight of her lips twitching as if she had a lot to think about.

At that, I was curious about what she was concerned about, so I immediately cast a telepathy spell.

‘What’s wrong, Shati…? Is there something uncomfortable…?’

[Ugh… As I said before, could you stop suddenly giving telepathy…?]

‘I don’t like that so I refuse, so is there something uncomfortable…?’

Shati showed a surprised look at my telepathy suddenly piercing her mind.

At that sight, when I inwardly laughed and gave a short answer, Shati seemed to realize that it would be useless to argue any further, so she sighed and answered me.

[It’s just that my father is among the people who came to watch the class.]

‘Are you not on good terms with your father…?’

[Grr… um…]

Shati answered while glancing at Duke Petra among the observers.

Seeing her hesitate to answer immediately while letting out a small sound at my continued question, it didn’t seem like her relationship with her father was very good.

The fact that she wasn’t on good terms with her father made me smile bitterly as it reminded me of the relationship between me and my daughters that I had seen in a book before, but I barely shook off that thought and said to Shati:

‘Since your father is watching anyway, try your best. I’ll shoot with magic several times stronger this time.’

[…You’re joking, right?]

‘I’m serious though…?’

Even if they’re not on good terms, wouldn’t she be happy to show off her strength in front of her father?

When I immediately denied it to Shati who asked if it was a joke, Shati hurriedly raised her wand and began to pour tremendous magical power into the shield.

It seems my words had quite motivated her. I looked at Shati once, cut off the telepathy I had been maintaining, and then raised my staff while looking at the shield that had been almost completely restored and even strengthened.

“She seems very excited…”

How excited must she be to be trembling like that while strengthening the shield?

Watching Shati not only thickening the shield as if to show off her skills, but even reinforcing it with resistance to the four elements, I gathered magic in my staff to live up to those expectations.

“Since she even reinforced the elements.”

『Fire Dragon』 『Water Dragon』 『Earth Dragon』 『Wind Dragon』

It would be rude of me not to try my best too.

Since there are spectators, should I go for something flashy and powerful?