[Soleil POV]
It’s been a while since Big Sis Luna left the shrine. Since then, it has felt very boring. All I have done is train, eat, sleep, and repeat. I honestly don’t get how Big Sis handled all of this when she was here without going crazy. The only thing I look forward to is the letters sent by Big Sis every few days.
“Hey Mom, when will I be ready to go and join Big Sis?” I asked.
“Soleil, you ask that question every day, and the answer is the same, when I say you’re ready. You have two years of training left; you can handle it.”
“But what if more bugs flock to Big Sis in that time? There’s already one, but I’ll let her stay because she is there because of the Goddess.”
“We really need to work on your attachment to Luna, you’re basically a fanatic.”
“Isn’t it fine? Big Sis never said anything about me being too attached to her.”
“That’s because you tuned her out anytime she brought up the subject.”
While me and Mom were having our daily argument the box Big Sis gave me shone.
“Oh, a letter.” I said, cutting off whatever Mom was saying and running to the box.
Inside the box was the usual bundle of letters for everyone, but also something else. There was something wrapped up beside the bundle of letters.
“I wonder what this is?” I picked up the other item in the box and walked back to where Mom was sitting.
“Ooo, something different this time, eh.”
“Seems like it.”
I looked through the bundle to find the letter addressed to me. Once I found it, I handed the rest to Mom. I opened the letter and started to read.
[Hey there, Soleil. I hope you’re doing well, sorry for missing a week of letters, I had a meeting with the Goddess of Fate and that basically knocked me out for a week. Anyway, as an apology I sent you a gift that also counts as a souvenir, I hope you like it.]
I looked up from my letter and picked up the package. I opened it and what I found was a beautiful pendant that was shaped like the sun. It had a red-orange jewel in the middle that looked like it could catch fire any minute.
“That’s a nice pendant, remember to thank Luna for giving it to you.”
“That’s only natural, Mom.”
I put the pendant in my lap and continued to read.
[I had a fun day today; Velvet took me around a part of the capital that had lots of shops and stalls. We even went to a small place that sold that bitter drink I used to tell you about. I’d really like to bring everyone there one day.]
“Big Sis makes it sound like she went on a date today; I wonder what the Goddess thinks about that?”
[Velvet even gave me a great idea on a way to take Tamamo out on a date, so I plan to take full advantage of that. Honestly, I think the two of you would get along great.]
“Hmm.”
“What’s up Soleil? You seem to be conflicted on something.”
“It’s this Velvet person that has been coming up in Big Sis’s letters. I can never tell how to think of this person. Do I dislike her for getting close to Big Sis Luna, or like her for being her friend? Not to mention Big Sis is always saying that we’ll get along great with each other, but I just can’t see it happening.”
“Soleil, you know you shouldn’t judge people you haven’t even met. Not to mention if Luna says that, then it’s probably true. I kind of want to ask her to stop by here before she moves on to a different country, but I’m afraid that you wouldn’t let her leave without taking you if she did.”
“You’re probably right, that seems like something I would do.”
“You’re not supposed to agree to that. Though at least you’re aware of it yourself. Honestly, I wonder what happened for you to be this attached to Luna.”
“It could be any number of things, you know. Like how kind she is, that one time I felt her tail while she was asleep, how strong she is, the all-encompassing fluff that is her tail, the way she always spoiled me when I asked her to.”
“I think I know the cause of the problem now.” Mom said while starting to rub the bridge of her nose.
“Though about a week ago, there was a split second I felt a burning hate for her, it disappeared immediately. After that, I felt like my connection to Big Sis lessened.”
“I guess she finally got rid of the charm skill then.” Mom mumbled something too quietly for me to hear.
“What did you say Mom?”
“I said that I’ll need to let Luna know you felt up her tail. She has a title that might explain your obsession with her.”
“Please don’t tell her, she’ll get mad at me if you did.” I said, my voice full of desperation.
It was then that Dad walked in from his forge.
“What’s got you all riled up, Soleil?”
“We got letters from Luna a little while ago.”
“That’ll do it.”
“Here is yours, Blake.” Mom said handing Dad his letter.
He spent a few seconds reading it over and let out a sigh.
“How many time do I have to tell her to stop asking for orichalcum? I can’t give her what I don’t have, and even if I had some, I would still ask her to pay for it.”
“Do you know what she wants it for, Blake?”
“She wants to make two mirrors out of it so that she can enchant them with space magic and give one to the Goddess of the Moon. Something about letting them talk face-to-face like we could in our old world.”
“Wouldn’t mithril be good enough for that?” I asked.
“Apparently not, mithril is incompatible with space magic, or so she says. It turns into pieces of scrap.”
“Before I forget, Dad, can you appraise this pendant Big Sis sent me?”
“Let me see.”
Pendant of Solaire: Pendant crafted by an apprentice jeweler. Increases effectiveness of fire magic a small amount and allows the wearer to travel in cold climates without feeling the cold.
“Heh, Praise the Sun.”
“What do you mean, Dad?”
“Don’t worry about it, you wouldn’t get it even if I explained. Keep this with you, Soleil, it’ll help you out with your fire magic some.”
“Ana, were there letters for Amagi and Deacon?”
“Yes, I’ll deliver them in a bit, my intuition is telling me that Deacon is going to get a headache from reading his though.”
“Did she run into a template situation already? I wonder which one?”
Dad started mumbling to himself about strange things again so I turned and asked Mom if I could come with her.
“Why not, you can show off your new pendant as well.”
We got up to head out leaving Dad in his own little world.
As we made our way to the shrine, I asked Mom a question.
“What did Big Sis say to you in her letter to you, Mom?”
“Mostly asking how I’ve been, if I’ve kept your dad out of trouble, if I found out why you were so attached to her and if it was her fault for turning you into a fanatic.”
“So, the usual then?”
“Pretty much.”
When we got to the shrine, we headed straight for Lady Amagi’s office. We knocked on the door and entered when prompted.
“Ana, Soleil, I thought the two of you headed home for the day?” Lady Amagi asked while tilting her head.
She reminded me of Big Sis every time she did that.
“We did, but Luna sent letters today, so I came to drop off yours and Deacon’s.”
“Oh good, it’s been a while since she sent anything.”
“That’s explained in the letters.”
Mom handed Lady Amagi her letter. When she read it her eyes went wide for a second before she put the letter down and started to rub her forehead.
“That daughter of mine, just how did you meet the Goddess of Fate not even a month after leaving home? And what’s with you freezing the arm off of a Baron’s younger brother, I know I taught you to go for other places first.”
“I don’t think that is the right reaction for that, Lady Amagi.”
“Well from what I read, he deserved it.”
It was then that Lord Deacon entered the room.
“Hey, Amagi, I’m back from training. Oh, hello Ana, Soleil, I didn’t know the two of you were still here.”
“Hello, Lord Deacon, we’re delivering letters from Luna.”
“It’s about time she sent some.”
He picked up his letter but was stopped before reading it.
“You should probably sit down before you continue, Deacon.” Lady Amagi said.
He looked confused for a second but complied. After reading the letter he placed his head in his hands.
“She couldn’t keep out of trouble for a month. At least it was the brother of a Baron and not the Baron himself.”
“Do you know the Du-Fis family?”
“The current Baron was a soldier who served under me while we were fighting the fiends. From what I remember, he was a decent guy, though he was always complaining about how his younger brother was always causing him troubles. From what Luna said about that whole event, he’ll probably come here to speak with us when he’s done with his business in the capital.”
“But isn’t his territory in the opposite direction?”
“That’s just the way he is. Though I do wonder if he’ll let me keep his younger brother here so that I can straighten up his personality.”
“You just want to vent on the person who touched your daughter, don’t you?”
“Damn straight, though I wonder if he’ll even make it out of the capital.”
“Why’s that?”
“Apparently, he also harassed the daughter of Duke Ashe today.”
“I kind of feel bad for the Baron now.” I said.
“Same.” The others said in unison.
After talking for a little while longer, Mom and I left the shrine for the second time today.
Author's Note:
A surprise side chapter is here and it's focus is on the siscon Soleil. What will Luna do when she learns the reason behind her sister's fanaticism? Will Soleil get along with Velvet when they meet? Who will fall for the other first? Will Jarred Du-Fis survive his time in the capital? Only I know the answer to two of these questions. Till next time. Thanks for reading.
[Soleil POV]
It’s been a while since Big Sis Luna left the shrine. Since then, it has felt very boring. All I have done is train, eat, sleep, and repeat. I honestly don’t get how Big Sis handled all of this when she was here without going crazy. The only thing I look forward to is the letters sent by Big Sis every few days.
“Hey Mom, when will I be ready to go and join Big Sis?” I asked.
“Soleil, you ask that question every day, and the answer is the same, when I say you’re ready. You have two years of training left; you can handle it.”
“But what if more bugs flock to Big Sis in that time? There’s already one, but I’ll let her stay because she is there because of the Goddess.”
“We really need to work on your attachment to Luna, you’re basically a fanatic.”
“Isn’t it fine? Big Sis never said anything about me being too attached to her.”
“That’s because you tuned her out anytime she brought up the subject.”
While me and Mom were having our daily argument the box Big Sis gave me shone.
“Oh, a letter.” I said, cutting off whatever Mom was saying and running to the box.
Inside the box was the usual bundle of letters for everyone, but also something else. There was something wrapped up beside the bundle of letters.
“I wonder what this is?” I picked up the other item in the box and walked back to where Mom was sitting.
“Ooo, something different this time, eh.”
“Seems like it.”
I looked through the bundle to find the letter addressed to me. Once I found it, I handed the rest to Mom. I opened the letter and started to read.
[Hey there, Soleil. I hope you’re doing well, sorry for missing a week of letters, I had a meeting with the Goddess of Fate and that basically knocked me out for a week. Anyway, as an apology I sent you a gift that also counts as a souvenir, I hope you like it.]
I looked up from my letter and picked up the package. I opened it and what I found was a beautiful pendant that was shaped like the sun. It had a red-orange jewel in the middle that looked like it could catch fire any minute.
“That’s a nice pendant, remember to thank Luna for giving it to you.”
“That’s only natural, Mom.”
I put the pendant in my lap and continued to read.
[I had a fun day today; Velvet took me around a part of the capital that had lots of shops and stalls. We even went to a small place that sold that bitter drink I used to tell you about. I’d really like to bring everyone there one day.]
“Big Sis makes it sound like she went on a date today; I wonder what the Goddess thinks about that?”
[Velvet even gave me a great idea on a way to take Tamamo out on a date, so I plan to take full advantage of that. Honestly, I think the two of you would get along great.]
“Hmm.”
“What’s up Soleil? You seem to be conflicted on something.”
“It’s this Velvet person that has been coming up in Big Sis’s letters. I can never tell how to think of this person. Do I dislike her for getting close to Big Sis Luna, or like her for being her friend? Not to mention Big Sis is always saying that we’ll get along great with each other, but I just can’t see it happening.”
“Soleil, you know you shouldn’t judge people you haven’t even met. Not to mention if Luna says that, then it’s probably true. I kind of want to ask her to stop by here before she moves on to a different country, but I’m afraid that you wouldn’t let her leave without taking you if she did.”
“You’re probably right, that seems like something I would do.”
“You’re not supposed to agree to that. Though at least you’re aware of it yourself. Honestly, I wonder what happened for you to be this attached to Luna.”
“It could be any number of things, you know. Like how kind she is, that one time I felt her tail while she was asleep, how strong she is, the all-encompassing fluff that is her tail, the way she always spoiled me when I asked her to.”
“I think I know the cause of the problem now.” Mom said while starting to rub the bridge of her nose.
“Though about a week ago, there was a split second I felt a burning hate for her, it disappeared immediately. After that, I felt like my connection to Big Sis lessened.”
“I guess she finally got rid of the charm skill then.” Mom mumbled something too quietly for me to hear.
“What did you say Mom?”
“I said that I’ll need to let Luna know you felt up her tail. She has a title that might explain your obsession with her.”
“Please don’t tell her, she’ll get mad at me if you did.” I said, my voice full of desperation.
It was then that Dad walked in from his forge.
“What’s got you all riled up, Soleil?”
“We got letters from Luna a little while ago.”
“That’ll do it.”
“Here is yours, Blake.” Mom said handing Dad his letter.
He spent a few seconds reading it over and let out a sigh.
“How many time do I have to tell her to stop asking for orichalcum? I can’t give her what I don’t have, and even if I had some, I would still ask her to pay for it.”
“Do you know what she wants it for, Blake?”
“She wants to make two mirrors out of it so that she can enchant them with space magic and give one to the Goddess of the Moon. Something about letting them talk face-to-face like we could in our old world.”
“Wouldn’t mithril be good enough for that?” I asked.
“Apparently not, mithril is incompatible with space magic, or so she says. It turns into pieces of scrap.”
“Before I forget, Dad, can you appraise this pendant Big Sis sent me?”
“Let me see.”
Pendant of Solaire: Pendant crafted by an apprentice jeweler. Increases effectiveness of fire magic a small amount and allows the wearer to travel in cold climates without feeling the cold.
“Heh, Praise the Sun.”
“What do you mean, Dad?”
“Don’t worry about it, you wouldn’t get it even if I explained. Keep this with you, Soleil, it’ll help you out with your fire magic some.”
“Ana, were there letters for Amagi and Deacon?”
“Yes, I’ll deliver them in a bit, my intuition is telling me that Deacon is going to get a headache from reading his though.”
“Did she run into a template situation already? I wonder which one?”
Dad started mumbling to himself about strange things again so I turned and asked Mom if I could come with her.
“Why not, you can show off your new pendant as well.”
We got up to head out leaving Dad in his own little world.
As we made our way to the shrine, I asked Mom a question.
“What did Big Sis say to you in her letter to you, Mom?”
“Mostly asking how I’ve been, if I’ve kept your dad out of trouble, if I found out why you were so attached to her and if it was her fault for turning you into a fanatic.”
“So, the usual then?”
“Pretty much.”
When we got to the shrine, we headed straight for Lady Amagi’s office. We knocked on the door and entered when prompted.
“Ana, Soleil, I thought the two of you headed home for the day?” Lady Amagi asked while tilting her head.
She reminded me of Big Sis every time she did that.
“We did, but Luna sent letters today, so I came to drop off yours and Deacon’s.”
“Oh good, it’s been a while since she sent anything.”
“That’s explained in the letters.”
Mom handed Lady Amagi her letter. When she read it her eyes went wide for a second before she put the letter down and started to rub her forehead.
“That daughter of mine, just how did you meet the Goddess of Fate not even a month after leaving home? And what’s with you freezing the arm off of a Baron’s younger brother, I know I taught you to go for other places first.”
“I don’t think that is the right reaction for that, Lady Amagi.”
“Well from what I read, he deserved it.”
It was then that Lord Deacon entered the room.
“Hey, Amagi, I’m back from training. Oh, hello Ana, Soleil, I didn’t know the two of you were still here.”
“Hello, Lord Deacon, we’re delivering letters from Luna.”
“It’s about time she sent some.”
He picked up his letter but was stopped before reading it.
“You should probably sit down before you continue, Deacon.” Lady Amagi said.
He looked confused for a second but complied. After reading the letter he placed his head in his hands.
“She couldn’t keep out of trouble for a month. At least it was the brother of a Baron and not the Baron himself.”
“Do you know the Du-Fis family?”
“The current Baron was a soldier who served under me while we were fighting the fiends. From what I remember, he was a decent guy, though he was always complaining about how his younger brother was always causing him troubles. From what Luna said about that whole event, he’ll probably come here to speak with us when he’s done with his business in the capital.”
“But isn’t his territory in the opposite direction?”
“That’s just the way he is. Though I do wonder if he’ll let me keep his younger brother here so that I can straighten up his personality.”
“You just want to vent on the person who touched your daughter, don’t you?”
“Damn straight, though I wonder if he’ll even make it out of the capital.”
“Why’s that?”
“Apparently, he also harassed the daughter of Duke Ashe today.”
“I kind of feel bad for the Baron now.” I said.
“Same.” The others said in unison.
After talking for a little while longer, Mom and I left the shrine for the second time today.
Author's Note:
A surprise side chapter is here and it's focus is on the siscon Soleil. What will Luna do when she learns the reason behind her sister's fanaticism? Will Soleil get along with Velvet when they meet? Who will fall for the other first? Will Jarred Du-Fis survive his time in the capital? Only I know the answer to two of these questions. Till next time. Thanks for reading.
