"Hum♪ hum♪"
Ashen watched gloomily as his sister busied herself munching on a potato in the most carefree manner.
With each bite she shot him a curious look, but how could he miss the mischievousness dancing in those pupils?
After bringing Rune over, he had asked whether the tattoo could be remade or removed. The answer was exactly as expected: a resounding no.
It wasn't merely a matter of difficulty in removing the mark from her skin. The tattoo had also been woven into a piece of her soul.
And that, was what made it truly permanent.
On the flip side, it allowed the boons she received to grow alongside her Pathway, but Ashen wasn't focused on that at all.
"It's woven into her soul…" he muttered under his breath. "Then… that means it will follow her to the real world… goddamnit."
"It's okay, brother. I don't mind." Lapis, who had of course overheard him, answered cheerily while still chewing.
"Well, I mind," he grumbled with a defeated look. Ashen racked his brain for an excuse he could give their parents back in Esperra.
He couldn't even begin to imagine their reaction when they saw that.
And it didn't stop there. Modern Esperra had a far more open choice of clothing. If Lapis ever wanted to wear anything from her old wardrobe, she would be broadcasting his blasted name on her breast to anyone who looked.
'No… this is clearly not okay.' Finally Ashen had to face it. 'Let's be real here. Is my own sister having romantic thoughts toward me?'
He narrowed his eyes, trying to catch any clue he might have missed. All he found was the usual waggishness of a sister who had successfully pulled a prank on her brother.
'Problem is… this has long escaped the category of a mere prank.'
Crunch…
"Ham… ham… Ah~"
Crunch…
"This is actually really delicious, brother. Do you want some?"
"..."
Crunch…
'Alright. Fuck it. I don't care.'
Ashen decided this subject was a can of worms he would rather not open.
"Give me that."
"Ah! I was only offering a bite… why'd you take it all?"
Ashen's solution was to pretend the problem didn't exist.
'I don't know anything, I don't see anything. Deny everything. Play the fool. Heck, if it comes to it, I'll just play dead.'
With that thought, he ate what remained of the confiscated potato in one bite.
"Fuck! That's mine!"
'Hm. Delicious indeed.'
◉◉◉
As the days went by, Ashen gradually returned to his usual demeanor.
Lapis wasn't surprised by that, since it was her own doing.
Beloved's Keeper.
That was the epithet of her sixth Step, and even though she had surpassed it by now, the skills and experience of embodying it remained.
With a skill as convenient as Tend To My Husband, reading his mood swings was a piece of cake, and it even came with an extraordinary intuition for how to handle his moods.
Knowing when to throw in a joke, sensing when he was down and needed cheering up, and most of all, conquering his stomach with his favorite food.
Of course, those were just the tip of the iceberg. The countless little things she did for him eventually added up.
So from the start, her silly brother never stood a chance.
Of course, most of it was also because Ashen was currently too busy to care about the tattoo matter.
It started with him asking his father to take him alongside the warriors aboveground.
Normally, one would only join at eighteen. Twelve years of training were barely enough to survive up there based on experience, but Adam had surprisingly agreed, albeit with a condition.
Reach the next Step.
And it wasn't because Ashen was special enough to be given special treatment. He had convinced his father through a duel, one where the old man had to admit that his son was already ready.
The condition was merely his last bit of stubbornness, and his fear of losing his son if things went wrong.
And Lapis was now inside their room, watching as Ashen ascended to the fifth Step. The last time had also happened under her eyes, and she couldn't help but marvel at the ease with which he ascended each time.
'Is this a Sloth concept thing?' she wondered idly. Though she was of the opinion that it was simply her brother who was invincible.
'Well… Ashen had already plunged into the deepest depths of it and was able to come back. This should be child's play for him.'
As she reminisced about the days when she had to physically drag him out of his own house to see the sun after months of staying shut in, Lapis finally saw her brother open his eyes.
She didn't jump at him directly, allowing him to first get his bearings.
"..."
"So…? What's the new epithet? Something cool, I hope!"
Ashen did not answer immediately, likely reading through his System window from the way his pupils darted.
Eventually, he looked up at her.
"Well, this is basically me nurturing my own body in this Step. It's called Body Refiner."
"Oh, is there a pattern here? It starts outward, and now you are turning inward. Maybe after the body comes the mind or the soul?" Lapis tilted her head, trying to make some kind of connection between the meaning of his Steps.
"Perhaps." Ashen acknowledged the logic. "Actually, I think it's better that way. But I'm afraid that my skills may become redundant. Many of the women here have skills that could forge the body and mind already, after all."
"Hmm… I don't think so?" Lapis looked at him strangely. "You always have the best skills around, brother. Even if some of them may overlap, I think your version is the most effective. And you also have the creativity to make the most of them."
Hearing her words, Ashen smiled softly.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Though that's probably due to my high compatibility with Sloth."
"Who cares about the reason? As long as the result is great." She shot him a grin. "For this specific case, of course."
"You're right." Ashen got up from the bed and put on his robe.
"You're going to see Dad now? About joining the warriors?" Lapis asked intently.
"Not yet. I'm going to see Mother first." He shook his head.
"Oh."
"And don't even think about something as stupid as joining the warriors." As he put his hand on the newly reinforced door's knob, he tilted his head to glance back.
"Since you tattooed my name there, then listen to your owner and stay put, you minx."
Lapis bristled at that. "Hey! Where did all that grumpiness of yours go? Now you're even using it as an excuse to order me around? Unbelievable!"
"Even if I use every means to keep your naughtiness under control, it still might not be enough, so sue me." Ashen replied snappily. "And as I said, no funny games!"
"Okay okay… Master. This slave will stay put. Geez…" Lapis rolled her eyes as she watched him finally leave.
"You better."
Tok.
"..."
The poor brother didn't see it. But the moment he left, all the displeasure left his sister's face.
"Hmm… being ordered around like that isn't such a bad feeling after all?"
Lick~
Lapis wet her lips, as if she had tasted something good.
◉◉◉
"Come in, sweetie; I've been waiting for you." Anastasia looked at her son with interest. He had come earlier, saying that he had something important to tell her and asking her to make time for him.
Naturally, a mother could only acquiesce when her son needed her; that was Anastasia's common sense, anyway.
"Hey, Mom. Sorry for bothering you." Ashen closed the door behind him and walked forward, thinking about the request he was about to make.
"It's no problem at all~ Just tell me what you need, and I'll do my best."
'How sweet… I just hope she stays true to her words after she hears what I'm about to say.' Ashen thought hopefully.
"Ehm. I heard you have a scan skill that lets you see other people's magic circuits and internal mana? I want you to use it on me."
Ashen started with this. Since he had come for her help with Trinity Harmony, he thought he should at least explain things thoroughly, and what better explanation than letting her see it for herself?
"Oh, are you perhaps talking about your double cores? I already know about them, though~" She tilted her head innocently, making Ashen freeze.
"Oh… you do… Since when?"
"From the staaart… hehe…" She giggled at his reaction.
"…"
A bead of sweat ran down his back.
"M-Mother… peeking without permission is bad, don't you know…?"
"Hmm. But aren't you my son? I don't need permission to look at you." Anastasia spoke with complete confidence, negating the existence of personal space in a single sentence when it came to her children.
But Ashen wasn't hung up on that…
"Wait… when you said you knew from the start… when exactly was that?"
"Since you were a baby, of course! You're really underestimating your own mom, boy. You think I'd fail to notice something so surprising about my own son? Fat chance!"
'Fuck I'm fucked.'
"Haha. That's a funny face you're making, Ashen." Anastasia, in contrast to her son, was having a nice time watching his ever-changing facial expressions.
"S-so… uuhh…" Ashen did not know what to say. "Mother… don't you find it weird?"
"What? You mean your intelligence since you were a baby? Hmm…" She nodded twice, searching for the right word to describe it. "If I had to say, it was more surprising than weird?"
"You're my baby, after all. You love me just like I love you. You see me as your mother, despite all your cleverness, so there's nothing weird about you."
"…"
"Though, I kept it a secret from the others." Anastasia stuck out her tongue with an impish look. "I may not find it weird, but I'm not sure about the others. And I don't want anyone treating my son badly just because he's super smart!"
Then she looked at him with a doting expression.
"You were really cute back then, trying your best to be clueless. Were you shy?"
"A-ah… no… not that."
"Either way, I'm glad you're finally getting over your timidity and opening up to your own mom. I'm really happy~"
"Ah… me too…"
Ashen really was getting bombarded with one surprise after another, not getting any chance to catch his breath.
Honestly, despite loving her dearly, he had always thought she was somewhat of a ditz. She even reminded him of Seraphine sometimes, but it appeared that it was simply his misconception.
Between the two of them, he turned out to be the foolish one.
'Assuming my sneaking around actually went unnoticed was really naive now that I think about it.'
In the end, Ashen acknowledged his oversight.
"Okay, now come give your mom a hug."
"Alright…"
As Anastasia wrapped her arms around his head and caressed his hair, she whispered into his ear, "It's good that you came to me about this matter, but why don't we keep it a secret between us, mother and son, hm?"
'...shouldn't I be the one to say that? You're really the best mother.'
Ashen nodded happily, now that he was spared the hassle of racking his brain to convince his mother not to spread his so-called early intelligence around.
"Also, don't tell your wife either. I want to see if she'll come on her own, just like you, hehe."
"...Lapis?"
"Yup. She's just like you~ You guys are perfect for each other!"
"Okay… I won't tell her that you know."
Ashen played along while completely ignoring the second part about a wife or whatever.
"Good."
She released him and continued, "Now, back to your own matter. I was actually supervising what you've been doing to your circuits because I was afraid you'd hurt yourself, so you can say that I know everything in detail."
"That's good, I guess…"
He shrugged, rolling with it now that there was nothing he could do about his mother snooping around his affairs. Then, he moved on to the main subject.
"I came because I need your help in finishing the Trinity Harmony."
"You call it that?" Anastasia went into a thinking pose. "It doesn't really fit what you have… unless…?"
"Yup." He pointed at his own brain. "It's incomplete. The third core goes in here."
Surprisingly, Anastasia did not freak out.
"Ah, that explains it."
Ashen looked at her weirdly.
"Mother. This core will be different. I will turn my mana into threads and weave it into my brain. This is also why I'm here; I need you to heal me when I mess up."
"Yes, yes… yes?"
'Here it comes…'
"Son, what are you talking about? You won't mess up. You won't even be able to, since I will be the one doing it for you. And when it comes to healing, I'm second to none."
Anastasia flexed her bicep with a smug look, but now it was Ashen's turn to question her.
"You'll do it for me? How? It's not like you can move my mana for me, right?"
"Why not?"
She looked at him as if he were the one spewing nonsense and explained, "I have a skill that lets me control all my offspring's mana. I just haven't used it on you since you never seemed to require guidance. Nor did Lapis, for that matter."
'You're becoming scarier with each word you speak, Mother…'
Anastasia ended her explanation with a complaining pout before perking up again.
"But now the time has finally come. So just sit down and tell me what you want to do! I'll do it for you."
Waving a palm in front of her face, she added, "There's no way I'm allowing you to do it yourself anyway. So just listen to me, okay?"
"…"
Ashen stared at her for a moment, then sighed helplessly.
"Alright. I'll trust you."
"Good choice~"
The mother and son smiled at each other, finally coming to an agreement.