章 169: Lyra is Very Tired!
But my positivity was thrown to smitheerens right immediately.
As we were going to go home, with me meeting Alt-nii and Clavis, a wild nephew—I meant, Ein appeared!
"Oh, isn't it Ein? Why are you here? Are you not going to be with your new friends?" I put on my friendly smile once more... At this rate, my face will get stiff...
"They're boring. I prefer being with Big Sis Lyra and the others!"
Like I said, stop emphasizing on my name...
"That reminds me... Are you living in the school dormitory?" Luca suddenly asked.
"No, I'm commuting to and fro my home!"
"Eh? Isn't it quite far from your house?" Kiri asked in surprise. No, all of us were surprised!
"Yes, but it's no problem! We can use the teleportation portal or other high-tech transportations, so it doesn't matter!"
"..."
Being born in the Hartmann family under its current condition, I began to calculate about the expenses in the Loera family that would swell due to Ein's transportation...
I started to think that Nicole and Clyde had lost their rationality or intelligence...
"How is the North Riviera like?" Carbuncle asked.
"Eh, Kuu, you have never been there?!" Iris asked back.
"Hmm, I have only flown over the area... I haven't really explored North Riviera, but now there's such a good opportunity, hm?" Carbuncle glanced at Ein and smirked.
"By all means, come to North Riviera! You'll like it there! We have so many nice spots to visit, and nice items to buy!" Ein happily replied.
...Advertisement much, Ein?
"Huh? Isn't it the Loera family's son? You're enrolled here?"
Just right then, Alt-nii and his friends arrived to pick us up.
"Big Bro Alt! That's right!" Ein smiled proudly.
Alt-nii's arrival saved the day. Because after that, they were busy introducing themselves. It was Harvey's first time meeting Ein, and Clavis-nii seemed to be wondering why Ein was tagging along with me and the others—without any single friend his age.
Shortly after that, before there was an opportunity to do anything else, it was about time for us all to go home.
Harvey, Iris, and Carbuncle parted ways to walk to the dormitory...
Eeeh, right! Ein would be walking with us to the same direction—namely the school gate!
And he nonchalantly positioned himself right beside me!!
Things couldn't get more awkward, right?
Thankfully, the topic we had during the whole way was ordinary. Since we were about to go home, we mainly discussed the topic of "going home", such as how long would it take, what transportation we mainly used, and so on.
However, I have a hunch that starting from tomorrow, things wouldn't be as simple as it is now, since we definitely won't repeat the same topic... Is Ein a spy sent by Nicole and Clyde, anyway? If that's the case, then you guys are evil. Evil!!!
***
"Lyra, why do you seem to be so tired?"
That night, Mom and Dad noticed my mental fatigue.
"Rururu?" Rurune who didn't come to school also tilted her head. Yep, Alt-nii would sometimes take Rurune to school with him, for example during Day 5 or [Adventure] period, and when it was time to learn about Familiars or Beasts at school.
"Uh... It's nothing. It's just... there's someone I know among the batch of new students..."
"Oh? Who might that be?" Mom asked curiously.
"Uh... The Loera family's son... Ein..."
"What?" Dad asked in disbelief.
"Oh, oh! Mom, Dad, guess what?" Alt-nii suddenly chimed in, "It seems like Ein is tagging along Lyra! I feel like getting a little brother that's so attached to Lyra!"
"...He... did... what?" Dad tried to digest the information Alt-nii just said.
...Uh-oh, Dad got triggered...? But Alt-nii said it felt like Ein was a little brother that was way too attached to me...
"Just what did that kid want to accomplish by chasing after my Lyra this persistently?" Dad muttered as he put his hand on his chin.
...Dad, please! He is just a little kid! If your "danger of romance" sense is tingling, then please remember that kids don't normally think of romance! That's something you'll begin to think of during puberty or after that... right?
....I have no experience in that area at all, so I'm not sure, but the thing is—I don't think you need to worry about that, Dad! I also see him as a botherso—nephew-like little brother.
I only feel troubled because I'm afraid I'd show more hints about me being Reinst who was reincarnated, and that he'd convey the whole thing to Clyde and Nicole—and then... Uuh, let's stop thinking about that worst case scenario!
"Dad, it's fine! I'm only tired because of the excessive surprise! He's tagging along with me like a little brother with sister complex... but it's maybe because he feels safer going along with people he's familiar with. I'm sure that he will soon get used to the new school!"
However, I didn't tell anything about why I was bothered with his presence. I couldn't say that out loud here. So, I made this kind of excuse while trying to convince myself.
Yeah, it was only Day 1. No matter how interested he might be towards me, kids tend to lose their interest after a while, so it was only a matter of time and my endurance. He'd bound to find his new circle of friends as well!
I felt a wave of relief after thinking about that, but somewhere inside my heart, I felt a little bit lonely to imagine that the "little brother-like" existence would stop nagging at me soon.
...Does this mean I actually want to have a younger sibling?
Domi's child face flashed before my mind, ceasing the thought of wanting a younger sibling. Domi was never attached to me when I was still Reinst. He was so attached of Mother and robbed me of her... That thought scared me a little.
My position in the Hartmann house right now—is that I'm the youngest child—the youngest one is usually the pampered one. While I don't think Mom and Dad would drastically change in the presence of a younger sibling, I think I'm getting more selfish for wanting to receive my parents and my big brother's pampering...
Yet at the same time, I felt that Ein and Leti were so cute and that I didn't mind having someone like them to pamper.
I'm such a bundle of contradiction...
Well, whatever! Not like I'm in a position to decide whether or not there will be a younger sibling!
Let's just take plenty of rest to prepare myself for the battlefield tomorrow!
クリエイターの想い 
LynneSuzuran
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