Chapter 60: Chapter 48: Childhood Friends and a Divine Task…

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 48: Childhood Friends and a Divine Task…

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-----Laura's POV-----

I opened my eyes only to find myself staring at a somewhat familiar ceiling…

As I raised my upper body, I let out a yawn and stretched a bit, thinking that it was already time to get up…

“Hmm… It seems that it is still too early…” I said with a grumpy attitude as I looked through the window… I could clearly see the twin moons of this world still high in the sky, which meant that it was still night time…

Thanks to the moonlight, I could clearly see that I wasn’t in the bedroom I shared with my older sister, Sarana unnie… I was in one of the many empty rooms of our house.

“Sigh… I guess it happened again… It can’t be helped…” I let out a sigh before looking to my left side.

There, there was a small bump beneath the covers of the bed I was laying on…

“Hmm? Did unnie transform into her fox form again? It has been a while since I last saw it…” I spoke to myself as I looked at the small bump beneath the covers.

I guess that I should explain how I think unnie and I ended up in this room instead of our own… For starters, you could say that I’m a bit of a sleepwalker… 

I am a little ashamed to admit this, but I need to sleep with my older sister in the same room… I know that I am already a grown woman and all but it has been like this for all of my second life… If Sarana unnie and I don’t sleep in the same room, I usually get up in my sleep to look for my sister. I know that happens because every time we sleep separately, I wake up in Unnie’s bed cuddling with her.

She told me countless times doesn’t really mind that I do that since she’s a heavy sleeper, so she usually doesn’t realize I’m sleeping in the same bed until she wakes up. Still, it is incredibly embarrassing for me that this keeps happening to me as an adult…

“Hmmm… The last thing I remember was that Unnie said that she was going to the bathroom… I assume that she felt lazy and didn’t want to use her magic to return to our bedroom, so she just crashed on this one instead. It would be so typical of her.” I scratched the back of my head while trying to remember what happened before I fell asleep. “Well, I guess I should just lay down again and enjoy a few more hours of sleep… We still have classes in the morning after all.” I nodded to myself before laying down again.

…

…

…

I’m sure Unnie won’t mind if I cuddle up for a bit with her, right? Since the spring is just starting, it is still a little bit cold at night, so sleeping while nuzzling against the warm soft fur of her tails would feel so heavenly right now…

“Hmm? Isn’t Sarana unnie a little warmer and softer than usual? In fact, her fox form is also a little bigger than what I remember… Still, it feels so good though… I might get used to this…” I mumbled as I got under the covers and hugged my older sister tightly. 

In mere moments, I started to feel drowsy while hugging Unnie…

“Cuddling with unnie before going to bed is simply the best…” I said just before letting out a yawn… “Good night, unnie… Love you…” I whispered to my sister as I allowed myself to be carried to the land of dreams…

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“Laura! Can you wake up already! We are gonna be late because of you!” An annoyed male voice yelled my name.

“Ehh!? What!?” My body quickly shot upward as I woke up in a panic… I was so panicked that I unconsciously ended up taking a karate stance and preparing myself for battle…

However, I immediately became embarrassed after doing such a thing… Mainly, because I don't know karate and there was a group of people in the room… People that I definitely knew and that would definitely tease me about this later…

My face got pale while staring at the group of people in the room…

“Geez… You finally wake up…” The guy who had shouted at me said with a tired expression while shaking their head.

“I thought that we would only have to wake up Sarana, but I never imagined that Laura would oversleep too… Deep down, they really are sisters even if they aren’t of the same race.” A young woman said while nodding to herself.

“Yeah, it was quite surprising… Never imagined that someone as responsible as Laura would oversleep. I suppose even responsible people like her can oversleep every now and then.” A young man said with an understanding smile. 

“Isn't it fine? It is not like we are actually going to be late or anything. Still, I'd like to have some breakfast before going to the academy, so what do you guys think?" Another young man spoke in an easygoing tone.

These four people are childhood friends of my sister and. They are also our neighbors as well as our classmates at the Imperial Academy.

"Ooh! That sounds like I plan! I want some scrambled eggs, some red azanor beans, as well as some pulled pork!" The young woman spoke with delight.

That young woman was Emily, a sheepkin and daughter of our local bakers.

Emily has long and spongy light brown hair which almost seems and feels like the wool of an actual sheep and has a pair of hazelnut-colored eyes. She also has a pair of short curved horns attached to her head. In terms of height, she’s one of the shortest members of our friend group, barely reaching 1.48 meters in height. Since Emily is so thin, and small, and people often are calling her adorable and whatnot, she's considered the baby of our friend group. She's 21 years old.

She was wearing a variation of the uniform of the Imperial Academy. Instead of the normal black and white long-sleeved shirt, black skirt, black tights, and brown shoes that most female students wear, she was wearing a modest dress with the same color scheme as the uniform. The dress was mostly white with a few spots of black here and there with several accessories, we had gifted her through the years. Since her dress pretty much reached her ankles, it was a bit difficult to see the pair of black shoes she was wearing.

She was allowed to wear that instead of the usual uniform because of her profession as an apprentice priestess.

"If you're thinking that I'm just going to hop into the kitchen to make all of that for you, you're very mistaken, Emily." A guy from our group immediately shook his head in denial.

"Ehh… Why not!? Aren't you hungry too, Douglas!?" Emily let out a dejected moan and complained.

"I literally ate breakfast at home like I usually do... In fact, weren't you having breakfast with your parents when I went to pick you up at your house?" Douglas had a deep frown on his face.

Douglas is the son of a dwarf and an elf, which means he is a dwelf. A truly unexpected combination, I know. His mother, an elven woman, works as a seamstress and his father, a dwarven man, works at one of the smithies near our house.

Because of his race, he is a little smaller than the average adult male dwarf. He is the shortest person in our group as well, being 1.41 meters tall, just 7 centimeters smaller than Emily. Despite his small size, he is pretty strong even though he is just as skinny and fragile-looking as Emily. He has short slick blonde hair as well as a pair of charming green eyes just like me. Because of his elven heritage, he has no beard like most male dwarves. At least that’s his excuse because I have seen elves with beards in our neighborhood… In any case, he is 22 years old.

He’s wearing the regular male uniform of the Imperial Academy. A white long-sleeved shirt, a red tie, a dark blue blazer on top, dark blue pants to match the blazer, and a pair of brown shoes. His whole uniform was in a perfect state without even the smallest of wrinkles in sight, which was a clear display of Douglas's perfectionist nature.

“That was only my first breakfast, Douglas! I was obviously talking about the second one!” Emily crossed her arms in a huff.

"Seriously… How can you eat so much in the morning?" Douglas let out a frustrated sigh.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I have to eat plenty to grow stronger!" Emily started to flex her nonexistent muscles. 

"You know? It never ceases to amaze me how much you can eat despite how small you are, Em." An easygoing young man spoke with admiration.

"I always have space for yummy food in my stomach, Mark!" Emily said with enthusiasm while having a smug look on her face.

Mark is part of the beastfolk, or more specifically, he is a dogkin. His parents are merchants and have their own successful businesses. Grandpa has worked with them plenty of times too.

He was the first friend Sarana unnie and I made after Granny Arentia took us in. In fact, he was the one who introduced us to the others in our friend group.

Mark is just a little taller than me by a few centimeters. If I'm around 1.76, he must be at least 1.80 meters tall. He has dark brown hair and blue eyes. He also has a pair of dog ears as well as a tail that are both the same color as his hair. His hair is very long as well as very unruly since he doesn’t like to comb it much. He is also 22 years old.

To be honest, he somewhat reminds me of my old golden retriever from my previous life… No, it is not because he is a literal dog person… It is all thanks to his sunny disposition as well as his easygoing and friendly personality. He also makes a really funny cute face whenever you scratch him just below the chin! Okay, it may be just a tiny bit because he is a literal dog person…

Mark is wearing the same uniform as Douglas, but his uniform was not as flawless as the latter. He was wearing his red tie loose and there were quite a few wrinkles on his shirt and blazer.

“I do agree with Emily on that. I always have enough space for sweets in my stomach!” Our final visitor spoke with excitement as he nodded in agreement with our mutual friend.

“See, Douglas? Felix gets it!” Emily pointed at Douglas and struck a victory pose.

And last but not least, there’s Felix. Felix is also part of the beastfolk like Mark, Emily, and Sarana unnie, but unlike all of them, he is a catkin. Both of his parents serve as knights of the order of the Roses of Nebandia.

After Douglas and Emily, Felix is the third shortest member of our friend group… He is 1.52 meters tall. His hair is short and kinda ash-colored while his eyes are amber-colored. His cat ears and tail are naturally the same color as his hair. Though he does have some patches of white on his tail and a very noticeable mole above his right eye. His face is somewhat androgynous… So much so that at a first glance, one might think that Felix is actually a woman. I say that because that’s exactly what I thought when I met him… Felix doesn’t generally mind being mistaken for a woman since he himself says that he is quite effeminate and that it amuses him to no end watching people get flustered about their own misunderstanding…

Ever since we met Felix Sarana unnie has been calling him a “Real Life Trap” or something like that with sparkles on her eyes… It has been years since she started using that nickname, and I still don’t understand what she’s referring to with that nickname…

Despite his appearance, he is the oldest one in our group since he just turned 23 years old a few weeks ago.

Just like Douglas and Mark, he is wearing the regular male uniform of the academy. Though he is wearing a black ribbon instead of a red tie… It has been four years ever since all of us started to attend the Imperial Academy, and I still don’t have a clue about how he managed to convince the teachers and the headmaster to let him wear that ribbon instead of a tie…

All four of them are our precious and important childhood friends. No matter what they are up to, we have their back and they got ours!

“I don’t care if you two agree. I’m not cooking. If you want breakfast, make it yourself.” Douglas shook his head in denial. 

“Meanie! That’s why you’ll always be a shortie!” Emily pouted and crossed her arms in a huff once again.

“Look who is talking… You’re just a few centimeters taller than me, so you’re also a shortie.” Douglas just shrugged before focusing on me.  “So, are you getting dressed up or what, Laura? We might actually be late if you’re going to keep laying in bed all day. And we still haven’t even woken up Sarana yet…” He said with an annoying while putting his hands on his hip.

“Thank you for coming to wake us up, guys. I really have no idea what happened… I always wake up on time, yet… If you guys hadn’t come, Unnie and I might have missed today’s classes…” I was thankful for their help, but I was really embarrassed that they had to save my butt…

Maybe it was all the stress from yesterday? After all, I was not expecting to meet another reincarnator like us on our patio who turned out to be my adoptive nephew… I also didn’t expect to have to meet one of the princesses of our country as well as the commander of the Ten Songs of Rokkshar, Lady Eliana herself… I genuinely thought I was going to have a heart attack when the two royals appeared, for good reason…

“Don’t mind it! That’s what friends are for!” Said Mark while happily wagging his tail…

“Still, I need to ask… How did you guys get in here? I’m definitely sure that I locked all of the doors and windows last night…” I asked with a bit of concern.

Again, that was the fault of the sudden royal visit we had yesterday… I was acting extremely paranoid since I was scared about the fact about the princess figuring out our identities and sending the Ten Songs to capture us and enslave us… Lilia unnie had to make me some tea to calm me down… Hehehe…

“Oh, that? Simple! Your older sister let us in! I was really surprised to see her here after so long!” Emily said with a bright smile.

Ah… That does explain how they got in… It seems like Lilia unnie is still quite the early riser huh…

“Right, I definitely did not expect to see Lilia noona so suddenly after four years.” Douglas nodded in agreement.

“It is actually kind of funny if you think about it… We last saw her after our entrance ceremony to the academy right before she left the city and now that we are seniors, she returns, just a few months before our graduation.” Felix giggled innocently.

Huh… Now that I think about it, it is true… Lilia unnie and her family left Mutm a few days after we started attending the academy.

“Laura, speaking of your older sister… Is it true? The rumor that she had another child?” Mark asked as he looked at me with interest. “I heard from my pops that your grandpa was running like a maniac that he finally had a great-grandchild to be his successor… That everyone should hide their women before it is too late.” Mark said with amusement.

Grandpa… Seriously? Not only do you put us into debt but you also need to embarrass us as well…? Fucking hell…

“Oh, that reminds me that I heard that the old man got himself kicked out of a brothel and that he almost got beaten up at that rowdy bar at the end of the street because of that very same thing” Emily explained in a very enthusiastic way…

Yep… I’m definitely going to tell Lilia unnie about this… It seems like we need to have yet another talk with Grandpa. He does look like he wants to be reunited with Granny…

“Sigh… Yep, the rumor is definitely true. Lilia unnie decided to adopt a child. His name is Julius.” I explained after letting out a deep sigh. “He’s a really good kid and he is definitely not like grandpa, so I wouldn’t listen to his bullshit if I were you…” I felt a little exhausted thanks to my grandfather’s antics even though I had just woken up.

Though there’s the fact that he is a reincarnator and that he was older than both Sarana unnie and I when he died… I do think he is a good kid… Man? He is a good person, m’kay?

“Adopted huh… Guess that would make you and Sarana his new adoptive aunts… Will that kid be alright with the likes of you as his aunties?” Douglas said in a fake mocking tone.

“Fucking rude. Do I need to remind you that we already have experience with our nieces? Being a good aunt is a piece of cake!” I laughed off Douglas’s comment.

“Hey! Hey! Can we meet him? I’m getting really curious about what he looks like!” Emily let out an excited squeal as she started to jump around restlessly.

“I’m also a bit curious about his appearance… When we asked Lilia noona about the rumor, she just giggled and went into the kitchen without saying a word…” Mark started rubbing his chin.

“Sure. You’ll have to wait until we finish classes for the day since I don’t even know if he is awake right now.” I agreed to the request of my friends.

Even if he is now my nephew and we get along pretty well, we’ve only met yesterday. As much as I would like to go and wake him up to spend time getting to know him and talk about our old world, there’s not enough trust between us yet for me to do that. I would also feel guilty about disturbing his sleep, so…

“That’s a bit of a bummer… I was hoping we could meet him now, but I guess it is what it is.” Felix shrugged while looking a little disappointed.

“You’ll still surely meet him when we return. Now, if you don’t mind, could you guys wake up Sarana unnie while I go get changed?” I asked just before grabbing the covers and throwing them away to the corner of the bed.

However, the moment I did that, everyone suddenly started looking at me with dumbfounded expressions…

Hmm? Why do they look as if they have seen a ghost? Wait… Could it be that Unnie is fucking naked again…? Seriously, is it so difficult for her to wear some freaking pajamas!?

Sigh… It is a good thing that we have been friends with these guys long enough for them to not care about such a thing…

As I looked to my left, I immediately realized that Sarana unnie wasn’t the reason why my friends looked so confused… Laying on the bed, there was a small brown-haired child with some black pajamas sleeping peacefully while hugging tightly a small nine-tailed golden fennec fox…

At that moment, my thoughts simply came to a halt… I was so confused that I couldn't even try to understand what I had seen…

"Well, it appears that you're already closer than I thought with your new nephew…" Douglas said with an awkward look on his face. "I must ask this for his safety though… Is this a repeat of the orphanage incident? If it is, I'd honestly expect that from Sarana but not from you Laura… I guess I should go get the knights." Douglas shook his head with disbelief.

"Wait, are you calling me a pervert!? He's my nephew you sick fuck!" I yelled at Douglas thanks to his unbelievable accusation.

"I was just making sure… I wouldn't want my friends to go to jail or get executed for that kind of thing…" Douglas let out an awkward laugh.

"Jeez… If you want me to beat you up, you just need to ask. No need to accuse me of something so vile… You should know me better than that, Douglas…" I was extremely annoyed because of what he was accusing me of.

I mean, I know that it is because of my older sister but being accused of such a thing is really outrageous, especially when I’m innocent! I haven't done anything remotely inappropriate with him! 

Except for 'kidnapping' him, I suppose…

Now then, I guess the reason why we ended up in this situation is that Sarana unnie surely barged into his room and crashed here without even bothering to check if the room was empty or not as she always does… After that, I suppose I must have followed Unnie while sleepwalking…

Yeah, I guess that's the only reasonable explanation for this situation.

"Leaving that past incident aside… Your new nephew is really adorable! His cheeks are so squishy and soft! How old is he?" Emily leaned closer to the bed and squealed with delight while poking Julius’s cheeks.

"He was nine, I think?" I tilted my head with confusion.

"Just nine? He seems a little younger than that…" Said Mark while looking at my new nephew with interest.

Wait… Was it nine? I don’t think that’s entirely correct for some reason… Oh… I remember now.

"Never mind that… He is ten. Today is his birthday." I said after I remembered the favor that Lilia unnie had asked of me.

"Laura, could you and Sarana take the kids out of the house for a few hours tomorrow? Julius will be turning ten years old tomorrow and I want to throw him a big party with all his favorite meals, decorations, and the things he likes. I know that he will insist on helping me out to prepare everything if I let him stay, but I don't want that. I want him to relax and fully enjoy his birthday and pamper him a little on his special day, so could you do this little favor for your older sister?" The words of my sister echoed in my mind.

Naturally, I couldn't refuse Lilia unnie's earnest request, so I agreed. I also wanted to spend some time with my fellow earthling so we could reminisce about our former world.

You are reading story Echoes of Fire and Shadows at novel35.com

“So, hey… How do you guys feel about skipping classes today? I kinda promised Lilia unnie to take Julius and my nieces to show him around the city while she prepares everything to throw him a party. So what do you guys say?” I asked my childhood friends with a bit of excitement.

It is a good thing we are seniors and that we are already a few months away from graduation. I don’t think the teachers will mind that we skip today’s classes since we pretty much have all of them in the bag.

For some reason, my excitement was met with dumbfounded looks from my friends…

“Damn… What’s happening today…? First Laura oversleeps and now she’s asking to skip classes? Who are you and what did you do with Laura?” Douglas looked at me with bewilderment.

“Right!? To think that the most responsible person in our group would ask such a thing! I think today is the day where the gods will grand pigs the ability to fly!” Emily made a joke at my expense…

“Maybe our dear friend Laura was replaced by an evil mimic and it is just waiting for us to lower our guard to devour us?” Felix tilted his head and rubbed his chin.

“Or maybe this is all a hallucination provoked by those weird mushrooms that Douglas is growing in his garden?” Mark nodded to himself.

“Oh, fuck you guys!” I crossed my arms and looked at them with annoyance. “You all make it sound like I’m some sort of teacher’s pet or someone who doesn’t know how to have fun at all!” I felt really offended that I ended up raising my voice a little.

“Well… You kinda are like that sometimes, yeah.” Douglas replied, making the others immediately nod in agreement with him.

“Bullshit!” I yelled. “I’ll show you how fun I can be! I’ll just take my nephew and my nieces and I’ll make them have the most fun day of their lives! You’ll see!” I yelled even louder than before…

I was so offended and annoyed by their comments that I completely forgot about the kid that was sleeping by my side… Naturally, my shouts of annoyance had woken him up…

Just like me, he was now sitting on the bed, clearing his eyes with one hand and holding Sarana unnie with the other. He looked really sleepy like he was about to fall asleep again any second now. Still, he didn’t seem like he wanted to let go of my older sister, who had transformed into her [Fox Spirit Form].

“Mornin’...” Julius immediately let out a cute yawn.

“Umm… Good morning, Julius… I’m sorry that I woke you up! Erm… I can also explain why we are in your room!” I panicked a little while looking at the sleepy originally black-haired boy who was sitting by my side.

In response, Julius just looked at me with his sleepy expression and shook his head. He was having a real hard time keeping himself awake…

“Don't worry... It’s fine…” He mumbled as he hugged the small fennec fox in his arms even tighter than before. “So soft…” He quickly buried his face in one of Sarana unnie’s tails.

Despite the fact that I knew that he was a twenty-year-old guy in his previous life, right now, he was definitely acting like a kid his age. I couldn't help but find him adorable thanks to his actions.

“You shouldn’t force yourself to stay awake if you're still tired. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit?” I suddenly found myself patting his cute little head and smiling at him. “I’ll even sweeten the deal! While you are asleep, I’ll make you some breakfast. I might not be as good as you when it comes to cooking, but I’m confident that I can make you something tasty!” I puffed my chest while trying to look like a cool aunt in front of Julius and my friends.

Those pizzas were really so freaking good! I thought that I was going to cry while eating them…

“No… I gotta train… I can’t slack off… I have stuff to… Do…” Julius' face suddenly rested his head against my arm. He didn’t seem like he could hold being awake for much longer.

“Julius just lay down and rest. You had to endure quite a long journey to reach the city. You need to get some sleep if you want to grow up to be big and strong. So, relax and your dear auntie Laura will bring you breakfast in a bit.” I kept patting his head while reassuring him.

Since it is his birthday, I don’t think there’s much of a problem letting him have breakfast in bed. Since he spoiled us with his cooking yesterday, I want to return the favor.

“Okay…” He nodded weakly. “Good night...” He surprisingly gave in without putting much of a fight, but then all of a sudden, he decided to hug me. And very tightly as well…

It was then that I realized, that it was actually him the one I hugged to fall asleep last night instead of my older sister… It was a little embarrassing to think of, but his warm hug made me forget about that pretty quickly.

Sheesh… To think that such a mature person like him who could easily handle both her Highness Alicia and Lady Eliana could act so childishly and be so cute while he is at it… The gods really gave him such an unfair advantage, didn’t they?

After being lost in thought for a minute or so, I heard Julius breathing softly while using my arm as his pillow. He had fallen into a deep slumber once again… Thanks to that sight, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling from ear to ear.

“I told ya! I already have quite a bit of experience when it comes to dealing with children!” I said while looking at my friends with a smug look on my face. “Aren’t I such a good auntie? You can praise as much as you want!” I giggled while patting Julius’s head.

Hmm… I wonder what I should make for him? I’m not particularly gifted when it comes to cooking and there’s not a lot that I can make… Maybe some American breakfast? Eggs, bacon, and toast with some freshly squeezed orange juice… Yeah, that sounds easy enough to make. I hope we have enough ingredients in the kitchen, but it is fine if we don’t. I’ll just send the guys to buy those things for me and they can’t complain since they will be getting fed too and for free as well.

While I was lost in thought, I heard a familiar beautiful voice in my mind…

(Umm… Is it a bad time to talk? I can come back later if you want.) Said the owner of a voice I recognized almost immediately.

(Lady Catris?) I was a bit stunned after suddenly hearing the voice of my goddess.

(Yeah! It has been a while!) The goddess said enthusiastically.

(Yeah, it has been a few months since we last talked… Why are you getting in contact with me all of sudden, Lady Catris?) I asked the goddess.

(Jeez! There’s no need to be so cold to me! That makes me a little sad, you know?) Lady Catris said playfully… She didn’t sound particularly sad. (But it is fine, I’ll forgive you if you start acting more casually with me!) She got a little bit more excited all of a sudden.

(You sound different than the last time we talked… You sound happier, somehow?) I was able to notice the change in her demeanor.

(So you noticed? How embarrassing~!) Lady Catris suddenly giggled like a little girl… (You could say that something really good happened to me a few hours ago~.) The Goddess of Love sounded like a maiden who had found their knight in shining armor. 

(Is that so? I’m happy for you then.) I wasn’t sure what had happened to her, but I genuinely wished for the best for the goddess who had given me a second chance at life.

(Thank you very much!) Lady Catris thanked me. (Do you wanna know what’s got me so happy?) She suddenly asked with a mischievous tone.

(I guess? You don’t need to tell if you don’t want to.) I said with a flat tone.

While I’m curious about what happened to her to be so happy, it is not my place to dwell in the affairs of the Goddess of Love, so…

(Really, Laura? This does concern you! And we are also friends so you can totally dwell in my affairs! Stop treating me like a stranger!) Lady Catris got a little pissed off after reading my mind…

(Ehh? We are friends?) I was genuinely dumbfounded.

It is a literal deity that we are talking about… It is already pretty difficult addressing her because of her position as a goddess, but for her to consider me her friend, her equal is truly shocking…

(Now that does actually hurt me… I thought that I had made it clear that I wanted to be your friend when I reincarnated you…) Lady Catris sounded very dejected.

(Sorry…) I immediately apologized.

(Sigh… It is fine… I know it is because of your former culture… Respecting your elders and your superiors and whatnot… It hurts me, but I understand… I just wish you actually consider me your friend from now on.) The goddess spoke with a hopeful tone. (It would be fine if you were a bit more like Julius in that regard…) She suddenly said the name of the child who was still hugging me so tightly.

(I’ll do my best… Though that’s not a name I expected to hear from you, actually…) I said while looking at Julius’s peaceful expression.

(Really? I don’t think it is that strange for me to talk about him considering he is my new apostle.) Lady Catris said casually.

Hold up… What!? I thought we were her apostles! Wait, wasn’t he the apostle of the Dark Goddess!? How come he is her apostle now? Did she steal him from Lady Lia!?

(Yeah, you and Sarana are my apostles, and Julius WAS Lia’s apostle, but I really couldn’t stand that, you know? It was so unfair that she was hoarding him that I simply couldn’t resist making my apostle as well, so now we are sharing him! That’s what got me so happy!) Lady Catris spoke with delight. (Although, the punishment for doing that without Lia’s consent was quite harsh… She practiced her best Tike Myson impression on my face for a few hours… It hurt like hell but I was so happy that I didn’t care~! Hihihi~! Julius is going to be a wonderful apostle~!) The goddess laughed blissfully.

Ah… So they are sharing him… Guess that having Lady Catris being punched a few times is far better than becoming enemies with the Goddess of Knowledge…

(I see… Well, congratulations? Should I throw a welcoming party for him for becoming your apostle?) I asked while being a little baffled by what our goddess had been up to. (Wait… Does this mean that he will be involved in the task you wanted to help you out with?) I couldn’t help but shoot an inquisitive glance at the sleeping Julius.

(About that… That’s actually why I am talking to you right now… You see, it is finally time to reveal the task that I need you and Sarana to perform, so I came here to have a talk with the two of you.) Her previously cheerful demeanor was changed by a serious one.

The moment she said those words, I felt how my heart started beating faster… The time had finally come to fulfill our part of the deal… I had been waiting for the last 22 years for this moment to come…

(Do you want me to wake Sarana unnie up? Since this is a task for the two of us, she should be present.) I matched the goddess's seriousness and prepared myself to hear what our task would be.

(Oh, that? No need. She’s currently with me in my Divine Realm, don’t worry about her.) Lady Catris said casually.

(Heya sis!) I suddenly heard my older sister’s voice in my mind. (Hey, hey! How do I look while I’m asleep? Do I snore or something? Do I look cuter that way~?) Sarana was even more playful than usual… Even more playful than the goddess.

(Umm… Hey, unnie. I suppose you do look cuter since you transformed into your fox form in your sleep.) I answered my sister’s question.

(Hehehe! I’m happy to hear that!) Sarana unnie was delighted. (Jinhee, you wouldn’t believe how easy our task will be! We really overprepared for that, so it will be a piece of cake!) My older sister seemed to be filled with confidence.

So, unnie knows already? Hmm… Will our task really be that easy? Now I’m dying to know what it would be.

(I hope that you don’t mind that I told her first, Laura… Sarana suddenly wandered into my Divine Realm in her sleep while Lia was practicing her boxing skills with me as her training dummy, so I decided to tell her first. I was about to pull you into my Divine Realm as well, but your friends decided to wake you up, so…) Said Lady Catris in a very awkward tone. 

(Don’t worry, I don’t mind… But I do have to admit that I am a little concerned about the way Lady Lia is treating you, Lady Catris…) I expressed my worries to my goddess.

(You should have seen Lady Lia, Jinhee! For a goddess who rules over knowledge, she has such a powerful right hook! Everything was so terrifying yet so amazing at the same time!) My older sister said with excitement.

That doesn’t seem to make things better, Unnie…

(A little bit of roughhousing with my best friend is not nearly enough to seriously hurt me, let alone kill me, so there’s no need for you to worry about me, Laura. I do appreciate the concern though~!) Lady Catris immediately brushed off my concerns. (Leaving that aside, are you ready to hear what I need you to do? Just as Sarana said, it is quite easy.)

(If you say so… Of course I'm ready to hear it. I've been preparing my whole life for this moment.) I said with confidence.

I'm no Skull Crusher and definitely not that powerful compared to Granny Arentia or Lilia unnie, but I am definitely confident and proud of my skills as a summoner and a spirit magician. Even though I was self-taught in many of the aspects of both magics, my teachers said that I'm on the verge of reaching the level of master in those two magical arts.

(That's good to hear! I'm happy that the two of you are confident about fulfilling this task!) The goddess was ecstatic. (As I said, this task is very easy. I really only need you to do one thing for me…) Lady Catris suddenly paused.

I couldn't help but gulp loudly thanks to the dramatic pause the Goddess had made…

(All you have to do is marry Julius and have a bunch of kids!) Lady Catris suddenly said something outrageous.

"You want me to do what!?" I was so dumbfounded that I ended up voicing my confusion out loud…

I didn't care that my friends were looking at me as if I had gone mad, my brain had suddenly shut down after finding out what our task was… I was completely shocked…

I have to marry him…? Why would she want that…? Is this some sort of sick joke!? He's my nephew and a kid on top of that! Even if he is a reincarnator like me and more mature than he seems, there's no way I can marry him in his current state! I’m not a pervert and I certainly don't wanna go to jail!

(No way! I can’t believe she actually took it seriously!) My sister suddenly started laughing at my expense…

I wasn’t supposed to take it seriously…?

(Sheesh… You ruined my prank, Sarana… Was it too much to ask for you not to laugh for at least a minute or two!? Also, do I need to remind you that you took me seriously as well?) The goddess was clearly annoyed at my older sister for ruining her tasteless joke.

I was filled with relief that it was all a joke, but at the same time, I was pretty angry at Lady Catris for making such a tasteless joke about such a serious thing…

(So it was all a prank, right?) I asked the two with a flat emotionless tone.

It took all I had to suppress all the anger and annoyance I had inside me…

(Yep! It was just a little joke! Julius would get pretty mad at me for getting involved in his love life without his permission again, and I obviously don't want him to be mad at me again… He's pretty cute, but holy crap he does know how to hold on to a grudge…) Lady Catris explained awkwardly.

(You know? Now I’m convinced that you deserved getting punched in the face… I think that it would be good if you got punched a few more times as well…) I frowned while looking at the empty air.

Seriously… Does she think she’s fucking comedian? That wasn’t funny at all…

“Umm… Laura, you okay?” Emily asked with a concerned expression.

“Yeah, are you feeling ill or something? Today you’re definitely acting really out of character…” Felix nodded to himself before giving me a look of worry.

“I’m fine…  It is just that the spirits just asked me to do some really stupid crap.” I told them a lie before letting out a deep sigh.

“Well, I guess that makes sense. I was starting to think that you had actually gone crazy and that we would actually have to call the knights…” Douglas immediately accepted my explanation. He didn’t miss his chance to poke some fun at me.

“I got really scared when you screamed so loudly all of a sudden… It is a miracle that your nephew didn’t wake up again.” Mark smiled awkwardly.

I couldn’t help but let out yet another sigh while being disappointed in the goddess I follow and my sister.

(Can tell me what our actual task will be?) I asked Lady Catris with a cold tone.

(There’s no need to be so cold, you know…? It was just a silly prank…) Lady Catris sounded a little dejected.

(It was not a silly prank. It was a very tasteless prank...) I corrected her. (I’m done with the topic, so let’s move on please.) I didn’t hide any of my displeasure for being pranked like that.

(Alright, alright… Jeez! Your real task is to teach Julius Spirit Magic, Summoning Magic, and Spatial Magic. That’s it… That’s all I need you to do!) The goddess finally revealed our task. She sounded a little disappointed though.

(That’s it?) I asked, expecting this to have some strings attached.

(Yep… All you need to do is to teach Julius the basics of each of those disciplines and our deal will be complete.) Lady Catris explained with a serious tone.

I see… Now it makes sense why Julius asked Lady Eliana for copies of those books from the National Library… Was this his intention all along? To have Sarana unnie and I teach him? Well, I don’t really mind if those were his intentions. If that is to be my task then I’ll complete it to the best of my abilities.

(As long he has the affinity for Summoning and Spirit Magic, then I’ll do my best to teach him.) I said while looking at the sleeping Julius.

To think that I would be holding a descendant of the actual God of Magic in my arms like this… Lilia unnie told me yesterday night that Julius hasn't found any magic that he couldn’t use, so taking that into consideration, he should be able to learn summoning and spirit magic. Though, I can’t say for certain how long it will take him to learn the basics...

(I’m glad to hear that. Thank you, Laura.) The goddess suddenly thanked me. (Also… I must add that originally, this was not going to be your task.) Her voice was suddenly filled with regret.

(What do you mean? Did you change our task last minute or something?) I inquired her.

(It is a long story… But it is also something you must know before you start teaching Julius. I don’t know what you will think of me after I tell you everything, but I just hope that you can forgive me.) Lady Catris spoke with the same regretful tone as before. (Now, our story begins when I…-) She began telling me her story… A story that would make my heart break for the goddess despite how I felt earlier…

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Chapter 48: Childhood Friends and a Divine Task…

END

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