That night, there was a lunar eclipse.
(“I’m back.”)
“Did you… hear something just now?”
“No!”
Three lounge chairs were lined up on the top floor of Aibo’s house, but only Aibo was lying in one of them.
Beside him, Cana and Erza were staring daggers at each other—or rather, Cana was glaring fiercely at Erza.
Erza ignored the murderous gaze and said calmly,
“Sorry, I didn’t hear anything either. I don’t think anyone spoke just now.”
“So! Why! Are! You! Here, Erza?! Tonight was supposed to be family time for Aibo and me—what are you doing here?!”
Erza tilted her head.
“I’m Aibo’s big sister, which also makes me family. Why can’t I be here?”
“Hahhh?!”
“Ahem, settle down for a moment—look, a shooting star!”
Aibo no longer had time to worry about the voice he had just heard.
It was probably someone nearby whose thoughts he had picked up again.
A shooting star appeared in the direction he pointed, flying upward from below.
“Where, where?! Whoa! It really is a shooting—wait, isn’t that shooting star’s trajectory a little strange?”
Erza nodded in deep agreement.
“Indeed. So there are even shooting stars that fly backward…”
“That said, is that really a shooting star? Why does it feel like it’s getting closer and closer to us?”
Then the three of them watched as the bright shooting star began to “turn,” flying from top to bottom and drawing closer and closer.
It streaked across the sky above Magnolia before falling toward the forest to the east.
“…”
“Uh, did a shooting star fall near our town?”
“Seems like it. But why didn’t we hear it hit the ground? Did it fall too far away? Oh no! I forgot to make a wish! This is all your fault, Erza!”
“? Don’t be unreasonable.”
Erza shook her head, stepped forward, reached out, lifted Aibo up, and held him in her arms.
“Tonight, you’ll watch the moon with your big sister.”
“W-wait a second! Erza, what are you doing?! Put Aibo down! I’m his big sister!”
Erza easily knocked Cana down and said unhurriedly,
“First, there’s no rule saying you can have only one big sister. Second, I’m the oldest, so I’m the big sister. Cana, you should call me big sister too.”
“What! Did! You! Say?!”
Seeing Cana on the verge of turning into a snake-haired witch, Aibo sighed and quickly blinked out of Erza’s arms.
“Can’t you two settle down for a moment? The lunar eclipse is almost over, you know. We came here to stargaze tonight, didn’t we? Can you both just lie down obediently?”
In the end, with Aibo mediating, he lay on the middle lounge chair while Erza and Cana pushed their chairs together, flanking him on either side.
The three of them lay side by side, watching the starry sky.
No one said anything, and the atmosphere was unusually peaceful.
Though, in Aibo’s ears, the two girls’ thoughts never stopped.
[As long as I’m beside Aibo, I always find it easy to calm down. Days like this continuing forever wouldn’t be so bad… Of course, it’d be even better if that annoying Erza weren’t here.]
[As long as I’m beside Aibo, I don’t feel that loneliness. I hope I can protect this happiness through my own strength… I’ve already lost too much. This time, I won’t let go.]
“…”
Aibo didn’t dare say another word.
Though he was happy to see the girls growing close to him, the pressure was getting a bit much at this rate, wasn’t it?
He had once felt that being born a few years late was a bit of a loss, since he could only be the little brother.
Now, though, he was glad he was young and could only be the little brother.
No one knew how much quiet time passed…
“Cana, are you living at the church these days?”
“Hmph, that’s right. What about it? If the priest hadn’t said I was too young to leave and stopped me, I’d have moved in with Aibo long ago!”
“Nothing. It’s just that I was taken in by a church too. Seeing you always makes me feel a certain kinship.”
“Um, I—I…”
[I have parents, you know!]
Cana’s face flushed red.
Though she and Erza didn’t get along, she knew better than to say something like that out loud.
(Unfortunately, Aibo had already heard it.)
“Even so, I’m not going to be friends with you! Hmph ╯^╰”
“Hehehe. I actually like everyone in the guild very much. I like Aibo, and I like you too.”
“Then what about Gray?!”
The air fell silent.
At last, Erza rubbed her forehead and reluctantly commented,
“…Gray… Gray is lively and cute too.”
Cana grinned wickedly.
“Then I’ll give Gray to you as a little brother, and Aibo is mine!”
“I don’t want that!”
Erza slapped the chair as she sat up.
The two locked eyes, and a moment later, both burst out laughing.
“…”
While silently mourning for Gray, Aibo covered his face with both hands.
He wasn’t laughing—he just felt that something was off about these two, and the atmosphere was strange.
He decided that tonight, he would obediently be a “plaything for his big sisters.”
Erza sighed helplessly.
“Honestly, I only wanted to improve my relationship with you, Cana…”
Cana flashed a grin.
“Haven’t we always had a great relationship?”
Erza blinked, then lay back down with a smile.
“So I was overthinking it. Sorry. I still have a lot to learn about dealing with people.”
“Hmph hmph. As long as you don’t compete with me for Aibo, we’re the best of sisters!”
“Aibo is everyone’s little brother. I think sharing him is fine.”
“Emmm, fine then. Since you’re my good sister, I’ll lend Aibo to you as your little brother when I’m not around!”
“…”
Aibo opened his mouth but said nothing.
If he hadn’t known that neither of them was even old enough to have finished elementary school, he really would have called the police.
Whatever.
What nonsense.
The two “sisters” chatted for quite a while longer before realizing they seemed to have neglected their little brother.
Cana leaned in and pinched his little cheek.
“Aibo, why aren’t you talking?”
“Huh?”
“Magical power is abundant tonight, so it’s a good time to train.”
“Hm, true. I hadn’t noticed until Aibo said so, but the magical power in the air really is much more active. Then I’ll join you!”
“Seriously? Do you two have to be this competitive?!”
Aibo had spent a whole year figuring out how important magical power was.
Although his own magical power had been increasing at a decent rate during that time, he was still dissatisfied.
Because Erza had already far surpassed him in magical power.
Ever since she came to the guild and learned magic, Erza’s strength had begun growing explosively.
Even with his cheat, he couldn’t catch up to her.
It was absurd.
He couldn’t go back on the boast he had made back then.
Aibo planned to focus on increasing his magical power from now on, so today he had spent some Inspiration to upgrade [Meditation] to LV2.
If upgrading the basic [Meditation] skill could improve the efficiency of his magical power growth, then it was time to spend some Inspiration points.
“Actually, I can chat while meditating. It doesn’t conflict.”
“Ugh, I really don’t get why you all like training so much. I just want to stay with my family and be happy every day…”
Erza spoke with ringing conviction.
“To protect my family, I must gain greater strength. Right now, I’m far too weak!”
“That’s such an Erza answer. What about you, Aibo?”
“A man doesn’t need a reason to become stronger.”
“You’re just a little boy who hasn’t even grown up!”
Cana pouted.
“Fine. I get the feeling that if I don’t work harder, you two will leave me behind… Aibo, could you teach me some magic that suits me later?”
“Of course, Big Sister Cana.”
“Hee-hee, thanks, my little brother Aibo~”
After that, the three of them kept chatting, one remark leading to another—about the guild, the future, dreams, and everything else…
Unfortunately, two of the three were clueless little brats with hardly any worldly experience.
Most of the time, Aibo was the one boasting wildly.
He had the accumulated knowledge of an entire world and said whatever came to mind, while the other two could only listen silently with wide, sparkling eyes.
Before they knew it, it was time to rest.
Finally, Cana reached one hand toward the starry sky, her voice wistful and her gaze gentle.
“Ah, I really hope we can go on like this forever, never parting. What do you think? Could we be a family together for the rest of our lives?”
“Huh? A-a lifetime?”
Feeling that something was off, Aibo inexplicably felt guilty.
But Erza suddenly sat up and seized Cana’s hand, her eyes as determined as if she were about to join the Party.
“Of course we can! We’re Fairy Tail, after all!”
“…”
“I-is that really the line to use at a time like this??”
Two fiery gazes fell from above onto Aibo in the lounge chair.
The mood was strangely eerie, enough to make a person a little afraid.
No, wait—how had things suddenly developed like this?
“Aibo!” x2
Under the strange pressure, Aibo swallowed, reached out his stubby little arms, and placed his hands over theirs.
“O-okay, okay. We’ll be good friends for a lifetime…”
“Yeah! For a lifetime!” x2