Chapter 22: 22: Morning Of The Test~!

(The next day)

Waking up bright and early in the morning, Erina was trembling in excitement, chanting, 'Today is the Magic Measurement test! I can't wait!' in her mind.

Not even bothering to change out of her pajamas, Erina ran down the halls towards her parents' room. Opening the door into her parents' bedroom, Erina climbed onto the bed next to where Garret was sleeping.

Leaning down to the stirring Garret's ear, Erina whispered, "Papa! Can we get up and prepare? Also, can you help get Mama out of bed?"

Rubbing his eyes to wake himself up, Garret nodded before replying, "Sure! How about you go get Suzuki to wake up, and I'll get Miyuki to get out of bed?"

Agreeing, Erina hopped off the bed and dashed out of the bedroom.

Closing the bedroom door behind her, Erina chuckled when she heard Miyuki complaining, "It's only 6 am! I wannnaaaaaa sleeeepppppp!"

Ignoring the complaining of Miyuki and Garret's attempts at persuasion, Erina ran down the hall with a purpose. Opening the door to Suzuki's room, Erina rushed to close the door having seen an eager Suzuki waiting on the other side. Failing to close the door in time, Suzuki lunged forward to capture Erina in her embrace. 

“You weren’t thinking of trying to escape were you, Erina~?” Suzuki teased, carrying Erina in her arms down to the living room. “So we’re going to go wait for Mom and Dad?”

“Yeah, they should be down soon,” Erina answered, stuck in Suzuki's arms, before complaining, “Can you let me down though? Why do you still try and carry me everywhere, it’s annoying…”

Striding down the hall, Suzuki replied with a beaming smile, “Nope! It’s a very enjoyable experience for me, and I know you enjoy it even if you don’t admit it~! So as your big sister, I exercise my right to mess with you~!”

“Fine…” Erina murmured, giving up once again.

Relaxing on the couch while making some small talk, Erina and Suzuki burst into laughter as Garret walked into the room with a victorious expression, carrying a sleeping Miyuki on his back.

Witnessing the two sisters’ laughter, Garret defended, "Hey, I still managed to get her out of bed though, okay? I think because she's still asleep, she forgot today the Mitsuyas are coming again before we all go to the banquet together."

Nodding enlightened, Suzuki and Erina helped Garret lower the sleeping Miyuki on the nearby couch before following Garret down the hall to help prepare breakfast.

Stretching out over the counter, Erina asked, covering her yawn, "Do you think the smell of food will wake Mama up?"

Shaking her head, Suzuki snorted, "On weekends nothing can stop Mama from getting her sleep, Erina. We just have to wait for her to wake up... I think it'll be in maybe an hour or so?"

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Chatting with Garret and Suzuki over some breakfast they had made, Erina giggled watching Miyuki stumble into the room still a little drowsy, "I don't wanna get up this early in the morning... I wanna sleep~, Garret why did you wake me up so early?"

Handing Miyuki a cup of water, Garret replied, "Well because the Mitsuyas are coming soon. Since our house is closer to the royal castle, we decided to meet here and then go to the banquet together."

Snapping awake, Miyuki downed her cup of water before running out of the room yelling, "I FORGOT, I NEED TO GET READY!"

Chuckling, Garret set aside some food for Miyuki and went back to chatting with Suzuki and Erina while eating.

Returning as Erina and the others were just cleaning up, Miyuki ate her breakfast while asking, "Do any of you remember when the Mitsuyas will be arriving?"

Piping up while reading her book, Erina replied, "I think they should be arriving in half an hour."

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Poking his head out from the kitchen while washing the dishes, Garret corrected, "We moved it forward slightly Erina, they should be arriving in 15 minutes."

Smiling in excitement, Erina moved a bit closer to the window facing the gate before returning to her book.

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Seeing the gate open, Erina put down her book before running to the door to let the Mitsuyas in.

Opening the door with a wide smile, Erina was enveloped in a hug from Emily, "OH! You've gotten even cuter since the last time I saw you, Erina!"

Being lifted off the ground, Erina struggled in Emily's arms for a bit before resigning to her fate.

'Aiya... why does she do this every time...'

Helping Erina escape from the clutches of the demon, Yuiko asked, "How have you been, Erina? I see you're wearing one of your newly bought dresses! Though it’s been less than a day..."

Smiling, Erina spun in a circle before replying, "Thanks for noticing, I've been doing great! How have you been?

Tilting her head with a confused expression, Erina added, "Plus, I want to ask why aren't you wearing a dress? I thought it was a tradition for girls to wear dresses to their Magic test while boys wear suits or something similar."

Sitting down on a couch, Yuiko replied, "Well I'm wearing this because I don't like wearing dresses and because there isn't a tradition like that~. You can pretty much wear whatever you want, especially because in the past few years they stopped requiring really formal wear."

Sitting down next to Yuiko, Erina sat in silence for a few minutes before asking, "Would you be considered a tomboy then? Like you always are outside... a lot more than me, and you never wear dresses."

Nodding, Yuiko replied, "I dunno, maybe I would be considered a tomboy? I don't really care. I like having long hair, though, so that’s one thing not really tomboyish I guess."

Leaning on Yuiko's shoulder, Erina answered, "I don't really care either..."

Admiring the view outside the window a bit, Erina mumbled, "I got up too early... so uh, Yuiko? Can sleep for a bit..."

Chuckling, Yuiko scooted over a little bit and put Erina's head on her lap before nodding, "Sure! It's always fun to brush your hair while you're sleeping! But I bet you got up way too early again because you were excited!"

Blushing a bit, Erina confessed, "Yeah, I got up way too early... and have fun you can do whatever you want with my hair...."

Dozing off in Yuiko's lap, Erina slipped back into dreamland once more.

Walking into the room after getting a cup of water, Garret saw Yuiko messing with Erina's hair and asked with a whisper, "How are you Yuiko? Ready for the test?"

Braiding Erina's hair, Yuiko answered, "I'm doing great! Thanks for asking! Although I am a little nervous about the test..."

Taking a sip of water, Garret reassured, "You'll do fine! Magic Ability is partly genetic, and both your parents are great mages!"

Downing the rest of his cup of water, Garret continued, "Thanks for taking care of Erina though. She's similar to her Mom, so it was only a matter of time before she fell asleep from waking up that early in the morning."

Thanking Yuiko, Garret patted Yuiko and the sleeping Erina on the head before leaving to rejoin the other adults.