June 10th, at the same time.
“Brother, I’m leaving now. I might not see you for two weeks this time. It might be a missed opportunity for a touching sibling reunion, but I don’t mind if you wake up while I’m gone.”
Morning light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, shining on the girl’s beautiful, clear, shoulder-length blue hair. She sat in a chair, dressed in a black jacket over a white hoodie. Cassia placed a perfectly peeled apple on a plate, pulled out a side table, and set the plate down. Then, she took another apple from a glass bowl and smiled at her brother. “It’s the dungeon task I told you about before.”
She continued peeling the apple.
“Counting the last time I got a weapon with Siloque on the second floor, this is my second dungeon task, so I’m not nervous… Sorry, actually, I’m a little nervous. Just a little. But this way, I’m sure that even if you wake up, you’ll never catch up to my progress.”
Cassia gave a silly, wry smile, then took a gentle bite of the peeled apple with her pearl-like, elegant white teeth.
“I finally get to see Siloque. I even went to the beauty salon to do my hair. Look, isn’t it pretty… Hmm… Even though I really want to see him, I can’t say for sure if we’ll meet today.”
In response, the handsome young man in the hospital bed kept his eyes closed, only replying with a soft exhale of breath.
“From the materials he sent me, they included some ecological info and notes for this task, but Siloque’s name wasn’t mentioned anywhere. That means he might help me, but he won’t show up directly. Why is it so hard to see him? Is he avoiding me?”
Cassia ate the apple and checked the medical equipment surrounding Cass to make sure everything was normal.
“Come to think of it, Siloque asked me to give equipment to both Bried and Kersey, but he didn’t give me any. When I asked, he sent a message saying, ‘You have the Wraithblade and your talent. You don’t need much equipment.’”
Logically, that made sense, but Cassia felt a little unbalanced inside—like that small dissatisfaction when every other kid gets something except you.
Cassia walked to the sink installed on the wall, wet a towel with hot water, wrung it out, and helped Cass wipe his face.
“By the way, Brother, I went to see Siloque’s girl… correction, Teacher Gewina, who has a good relationship with Siloque, yesterday. She was terrifying. In every sense, can I really beat her?”
Recalling the previous day’s experience, Cassia felt a chill. Finally, before leaving, she managed to blurt out that awkward, unclear declaration—warning Gewina not to think Siloque would always stay by her side.
“She’s taller than me, has long legs, is really gentle, and has a big heart. No, that mature woman vibe… when she’s not angry… Bro, it’s not totally hopeless! Hmph, in two years, my—my chest will be bigger than hers, and my face is definitely cuter. My advantages are bigger!!”
Cassia encouraged herself, put away the towel, and said, “Right… I haven’t lost yet. Hmm, I’m just lending Siloque to her for now. I’ll take him back sooner or later.”
Cassia straightened Cass’s blanket, making it smooth, and was about to go say goodbye to the butler, Hyder, when—
“Yo! Cassia! I heard you’re doing a dungeon task? This is a great chance to bond with your team. Who knows, sparks of love might fly!”
The automatic door opened quietly, and a tall woman raised her hand in greeting as she stepped into the room in sneakers. Just as the automatic door was about to close, Hyder’s graying hair was visible as he stood outside with his back to the room, waiting.
“Mother… ma’am.” Cassia forced the words out.
“Mm-hmm, right. Proper forms of address are important—they let people know their place. Good morning!”
Victoria patted Cassia on the shoulder like a close friend. Cassia kept a cold expression, her eyes blazing as she shot a sharp glare at Victoria, staring her down without blinking.
“As expected of my child. Well done, well done. Amazing. Entering the third floor in your first year? Keep it up, and you might catch up to Mommy… Oh?”
Cassia pushed away Victoria, who had hugged her out of the blue. “Don’t you have work? Why are you here again?”
Victoria arched her graceful eyebrows, her phoenix eyes sparkling with spirit as she smiled. “How could work be more important than watching my child grow?”
It was the least funny joke Cassia had ever heard.
“So, how is it? Are the two girls in your team already falling for you, starting a love rivalry full of catfights?”
“…They’re both girls. That’s not happening.”
“Oh… girls. So you still haven’t gotten that boy named Siloque into your team.”
“Gah—!” Cassia’s eyelids twitched as she stared at Victoria with a blank expression.
“How can that be? Back in my day, suitors were lined up outside the school. Your father even cried and licked my shoes, begging me to go on a date with him. Is it that hard for you to recruit your classmate Siloque as a teammate? Lack of charm?”
About her father, Cassia only remembered Hyder once mentioning that he was Victoria’s teammate and died in a dungeon. Since she never met him in person, Cassia didn’t have strong feelings about her biological father.
“…You’re asking knowingly. With my current identity, I can’t get too close to people.”
“What’s the big deal? If it’s that hard, just turn Siloque into a girl. That kid’s already cute anyway. Change their gender a bit, and you can keep using your brother’s identity to date them. No one will know.” Victoria grinned with amusement. “My condition is that you don’t reveal your real identity, but I never said you couldn’t have romantic freedom.”
“You—?!”
Cassia was speechless. She couldn’t understand her mother’s twisted sense of humor and didn’t want to.
“Just kidding, just kidding. No need to make such a serious face. Getting angry all the time makes you age, you know.” Victoria laughed and poked Cassia’s cheek.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go. My companions are waiting.” Cassia stepped back again.
Victoria walked over to Cass’s hospital bed. “Cassia, don’t forget about the game.”
Victoria picked up the apple Cassia had just cut and threw it into the blender, turning the rabbit-shaped apple chunks into a mushy, unrecognizable paste. Cassia had originally planned for Hyder to feed it to her brother later and knew the apple would eventually be turned into liquid food, but seeing Victoria do this for the first time made Cassia feel like she was trying to choke her brother to death.
Victoria lifted Cass, propping him against the pillow, supporting his chin, pinching his nose, and slowly spooning the apple puree into his mouth.
“…You don’t need to remind me, Mother. I’m leaving. Take care of Brother.”
After confirming that Cass’s throat moved and he swallowed the apple puree smoothly, Cassia took out the identity ring and put it on. Now, as the young man named Cass, she walked out without looking back—
“Cassia.” A simple, clear voice made Cassia stop instinctively.
“As my child, your growth is far superior to others. In return, you’ll face one problem after another, each more difficult than the last. You have no room to let your guard down.”
Cassia looked back at Victoria in confusion. Victoria just kept her friendly, sisterly smile. The automatic door closed, and Cassia’s figure disappeared completely.
“Honestly, Cass, this is all your fault. You made Cassia dislike me.”
Victoria pouted in mock anger and flicked Cass on the forehead with a loud snap.
Cass protested: “…”
“But, I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll forgive you. Oh, right—since it’s Cassia’s first dungeon task, have Hyder drive her there.”