I straightened up and looked toward the chamber with determination. I had faced trolls, harpies, and those filthy humans in the service of Regent Joshua. It was finally over... I had reached the end.
I walked, panting blood. I felt my lungs burning. I opened the door and saw him. Before me stood the charred skeleton of the greatest sorcerer of the north.
"Hahaha... I made it, master. After all this time, your stupid apprentice fulfilled his mission."
I cried. My tears fell drop by drop onto his bones. I knelt down and focused my gaze on his skull.
"I did it, master. I'm sorry I couldn't do it sooner..."
A tremor shook the ground and several voices could be heard behind the door, but I didn't turn around.
"Sir!" —a shrill voice, lamenting.
"Young master! Where are you?" —a frightened voice.
"Slave! What have you done to yourself?!" —an angry voice.
I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but I saw the skull move its jaw without saying anything. My mind wandered and swirled, as if my existence were fading away.
Then I opened my eyes. I saw the sunlight coming through the window. I looked at my hands.
"That... was a good dream."
I'd had strange dreams since I was a child. I should write it down. I got up from the bed.
"Ahhh!"
I sat back down. Consciousness hurt.
"Shit! I got up too fast!"
"Let's see, let's see..."
I got up again and went to the door. I opened it and walked to the end of the hallway. I stood looking toward the stairs, not knowing why. I just wanted to do it.
"Is it... nostalgic? No... it's strange..."
"Strange? Miss, what's strange?"
Misaki came up the stairs but stopped when she saw me. I saw her golden eyes looking at me.
"No... I just felt a little strange... Where are you going, Misaki?"
(I couldn't think of anything.)
"Where am I going? Well, I was coming to wake you, so let's go. Breakfast awaits us."
She offered me her hand.
(Breakfast... no... we skip it...)
I stared at her hand. Lost in my thoughts, I took it.
"Thank you for joining us, miss," she smiled.
As we went down, I whispered softly:
"You can call me D... Sienna..."
I don't know if she heard me or not. We kept going down and reached the kitchen. Misaki didn't answer me.
"Welcome, sweetheart! Sit down, I'll serve you soon."
Dad was cheerful. I saw Camila eating some waffles and a café con leche.
"Well, finally woke up, sleepyhead?"
"Ah... yes... I did, Mom..."
My mind was blank. I felt sad. I don't know why.
"Are you okay?"
Camila came over to us and put her hand on my forehead.
"...Are you okay? You don't feel sick? Tired or something like that?"
Camila was worried. Her eyes didn't look at me directly, but you could still tell.
"Oh, sweetheart, are you unwell? What happened to you?"
Dad put down what he was holding and came over to me.
"No, it's nothing. I felt a little bad a while ago, that's all."
"You felt bad a while ago?"
Misaki looked at me along with the others. I felt like they were looking at a child.
"I just... got up a little too fast and got dizzy..."
I blushed. The embarrassment grew little by little.
"Good. It's nothing bad, then."
Camila sat down, relieved.
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I've got just the thing."
Dad started searching through the refrigerator.
"Then, let's sit down and think about what time to go to Miss Daisy's."
Misaki was getting back to normal as fast as she could. I appreciated that.
"Wouldn't two o'clock be better?"
"No. That would be impolite, Miss Sienna. Remember it's a study group, so we'll have to call Miss Daisy and agree on what time to arrive, and at..."
"Can you bring me the tablet?" I looked her in the eyes. "Please..."
"Eh, now?" Misaki was a little surprised.
"Yes. It's to arrange it..."
"Oh, very well thought, miss!"
So Misaki went off to get it.
"Well, here it is!"
Dad placed some kind of tea in front of me.
"Is that tea or something?"
"Yes, something like that. Your grandfather created it. It's good for your health."
Dad had a cheerful look when he mentioned Grandfather. Then I drank it.
"Remember your grandmother is coming later—"
Pfft!
I spat out all the tea.
"Y-you... damn demon!"
The person in question got angry and lunged at me, flipping the table.
"Ahhh, Dad!"
Then I ran through the living room, dodging every one of Camila's attempts.
"Insolent brat!"
Then she grabbed a cushion from the couch and threw it at my face. But I, in the most Men in Black style but in negative, dodged it.
PAF!
"It was her!" I immediately pointed at Camila when I heard the impact.
Misaki had caught the cushion with one hand.
"More care, please. Miss Sienna is 'delicate in that respect.'"
"You're right, Misaki, hahaha."
A small laugh came from Camila and we went back to eating, but first Camila grabbed my arm.
"I think you owe me an apology, don't you?"
"Yes... I'm sorry, Camila..."
"Camila..." she closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. "Sit down, Sienna. Eat so you're ready when you go to your friends'."
"Oh... okay. Thank you very much."
I smiled and sat down next to Misaki. I took the tablet and searched for Arisha's contact. I wrote to her:
"What's up, my Dominatrix in training. We're going to Daisy's at 2 pm."
Arisha wrote back after a moment:
"Dominatrix? What's that?"
"You know what? Forget it. I'll be at your place at 1:40. See you later, fourth-rate Artist."
"Okay, we'll be waiting!"
Then I turned off the tablet and ate.
"Dad, Arisha's coming at 1:40 and then we'll go study at Daisy's. That's not a problem, right?"
Dad, who was eating very politely, little by little, set his plate aside to answer.
"Of course it's fine. I'll finally meet one of your friends."
Camila, who seemed uninterested, spoke up:
"None of the other crazy ones coming? Sasha and Adesa?"
I didn't know what to say. I hadn't seen or met them.
"Well... Misaki, are they coming?"
Misaki, clearly bewildered by my question:
"Well... we didn't even invite them, so I don't think so..."
"Well, it's normal that you wouldn't want to see Adesa, I guess..." Camila sounded a little disappointed as she picked at her food.
"Yeah... I'm sure it'll work out. Adesa cares a lot about you. It's just that she... doesn't show it much."
"Yeah, maybe... if I see her again, I'll be more understanding."
So we kept eating and I went back to my room.
"Okay, time to do some research! Misaki, don't come into my room until one, understood?!"
Misaki, who had come up with me, was surprised by my mood, but she still smiled at me and left.
I turned on the PC and went into InFraYou.
"Time to learn... But what event is always the most searched... Ah, but first I need to find the country's name..."
I typed in search of a map.
"So the top recommended are... Veta Maps and Royal Maps... Why such bad names? Isn't there one like the perfect MedalMaps I used to use? Well, I'll use Veta."
"Okay, okay, this country is called... Holy Kingdom of San Sebastián? An empire..."
I looked at the ceiling.
"An empire... That means if I were a man, I'd have a harem?"
I imagined myself in a dirty apartment full of alcohol, women, exotic powders, and me vomiting in the bathroom.
"So I'd be like Grandfather, then? Okay, I've got the name. Now I need to look up information so I don't look like an idiot."
(Should I read a book?)
"Shut up, brain, I'm trying to concentrate!"
(Wouldn't it be more informative?)
"Maybe, but it would take too long. I'd better watch a video!"
I typed: "The 10 most important moments in the history of the Holy Kingdom of San Sebastián."
It showed the logo of a knight speaking.
"August 14, 1257. In the midst of civil war, to the north of the Julian Empire, an elderly man with a cane gazed upon the remains of the battle. The man's name was Félix Sánchez, prime minister of the Holy Kingdom. A few hours earlier, he had signed the surrender and put an end to his rebellion..."
"Though unbeknownst to him, he would be executed within a few hours..."
"Miss! Miss Sienna!"
"Ah?"
I sat up and wiped the drool from my mouth.
"What... what happened, Misaki? What time is it?"
"It's already 1:03. It's time for you to get ready."
"One o'clock? I fell... asleep?"
"It seems so. But I don't understand, what were you doing watching that?" she looked a little embarrassed.
"History of Yuri: Origin and Representations"
"What the...! I was framed!"
"Miss, don't worry, I understand..." Misaki was a little blushed and wasn't looking me directly in the eyes.
"No, Misaki, it's a conspiracy! I swear I'm... Wait, it's yuri... And what's wrong with that?"
"I... I don't know! Please, get changed!"
Then Misaki left.
"Well... I don't see anything wrong with it... Ah, right, it's because I'm a man, isn't it?"
(From Temu, but yeah.)
"Whatever! I still am!"