Chapter 110: Chapter 110

Audrey’s POV
   There are no festivals similar to Christmas in Ifezan. The humans who live in that world generally celebrate at least one of the following three: Festival of Sunlight, the Day of the Silent Dead, and Founder’s Day.

   As its name suggests, Festival of Sunlight is being used to celebrate the gift of sunlight that nurtures life. As for the Day of the Silent Dead, people would visit the graves of their loved ones while bringing offerings. And pray that the said loved ones would pass on peacefully rather than turning into an undead. Lastly, the Founder’s Day. This one is mostly celebrated by nobles of the Ustadel Kingdom who wish to gain favor from the King by declaring their undying loyalty towards the royal family that founded the said kingdom.

   After hearing the backstory of Christmas, Audrey concludes that the entire thing is a mere make-believe designed to force naughty children to behave themselves. She wants to have nothing to do with it-

   “Let’s celebrate Christmas together, nee-san!” Al suggested excitedly a few days ago.

   “...Al, we are not children. We are not even denizens of this world.”

   “Ah, who cares about our age or the fact that we’re not from around here? It’s all about blending in, right?”

   “I believe not everyone celebrates it. As such, it will not assist us in blending in.”

   “Come on, nee-san! It’ll definitely be fun! There will be lots of food, and we can buy each other presents!”

   The last part softened Audrey’s resolve in distancing herself from Christmas. As a child who was given birth by a mistress with low status, Al has always been treated cruelly by pretty much everyone in their family which consisted of 5 wives, 12 children of all ages and at least 20 mistresses. Until Audrey got her out of that horrible place, Al was on a constant verge of being beaten to death or driven insane by the horrible abuse she received from her so-called family members. As such, Audrey has sworn that she will make her half-sister as happy as possible.

   “...Fine. I shall celebrate it with you.” Audrey relents.

   “Really? Yay!”

   “We could invite others to join us. Your classmates, perhaps, and Minase-san, Esty-san and their friends too.”

   “My classmates aside, I don’t think it’s a good idea to invite Minase and Esty.”

   “Oh? Why is that?”

   “Didn’t you hear, nee-san? Couples go on a special date during Christmas. They enjoy their meal in fancy restaurants, watch the pretty lights together, and generally have a good time.”

   “I have certainly not heard about that part. It would seem that I have much to learn. More importantly, I do agree that we should not prevent the two from spending quality time with each other.”

   The two sisters looked at each other and grinned. However, their expression became somber and sad at the next second as they remembered about the existence of the wall which prevents the Hero and the daughter of the Demon Lord from being honest with their romantic feelings with each other.

   “Do you think those two will ever be together, nee-san?” Al asked softly.

   “I am not sure, Al.” Audrey confessed. “Truth be told, I would be more than happy to help them out. Unfortunately, this is a problem between them. As such, outsiders like us could only observe and wish for the best.”

   “I really hope things work out between them. After all, they were our first two friends when we arrived in this world.”

   “Me too Al, me too.”

   Besides their friendship, Audrey is also grateful that Minase gave her back the ring that is the symbol of the Graylock. He did so without raising a fuss nor asking for anything in return.

   Fast forward to the present. Today is the day before Christmas Eve. A few weeks before, Al had been planning a Christmas Party with the assistance of some of her classmates. They organized everything from the menu of the food they eat at the party, to the activities they will be doing. Even though the party is tomorrow, Al is getting more and more nervous as the time goes by. Ever since she has woken up, she has been walking around the room the sisters share with each other for literal hours. Audrey has tried to be understanding, but her patience is finally wearing thin.

   “Al, could you please calm down? Being nervous is not going to help.”

   “Sorry, nee-san. I just can’t help it. I have too many worries in my mind right now. What if no one turns up tomorrow? What if they don’t like the food I ordered? What if-”

   “Stop stop stop.”

   Audrey gets up from her seat and walks over to Al. She then puts her hands on her shoulders.

   “Listen carefully Al. The efforts you and your classmates made these past few days in order to prepare for the party will not be a waste. Have more faith in yourself.” Audrey assures calmly and soothingly.

   Thankfully, that did the job. Al looks much calmer now.

   “Thanks, nee-san. If anything, I should trust my classmates who helped me out, or I’ll be rude to them.”

   “Exactly. But that doesn’t not mean that you should belittle yourself, you hear?”

   “Got it. Now then, let’s get to my daily dose of BL!”

   Audrey tries not to shudder at the mere mention of Al’s favorite literature genre. Previously, her relationship with Al was almost ruined due to her being narrow-minded. It was thanks to Minase’s advice that the two of them are still on speaking terms.

   “Say, nee-san.”

   Al’s voice brought Audrey back to reality.

   “Yes, Al?”

   Audrey was half-expecting Al to invite her to join her at one of those “daily dose” sessions she just mentioned. But no. The expression Al has on her face right now is extremely serious.

   “What are we going to do about our father?”

   …Ah. That explains her serious expression.

   “To be honest, I am at a loss as well. I have tried searching with Clairvoyance, but to no avail. He is too well-hidden. As such, we could only stop him once he had decided to strike.”

   All of a sudden, Al starts hugging herself. She’s also trembling in fear.

   “I’m scared that he might appear in front of us again…” she whispers.

   Audrey rushes forward and hugs Al.

   “Don’t you worry, Al. I’ll definitely make sure that he won’t lay a finger on you.” she comforts.

   “But-”

   “No buts! He can try to harm you, but he will have to go through me!”

   Even with her comforting, it took Al quite a while to stop her trembling. Audrey doesn’t blame her. When it comes to their father, he was Al’s number one source of fear. She was very, very close to being ended up in one of his twisted experiments. Experiments Audrey wanted no part of.

   “I’m really sorry for losing my composure, nee-san.” Al apologizes once she has finally calmed down.

   Audrey shakes her head. “There is no need to apologize. Just remember to have fun tomorrow, yes?”

   “Yes.”

   All the comforting seems to do the required work, and Al has managed to return to her cheerful self. However, that only lasted for ten seconds. Ten seconds later, she got stressed out by the party tomorrow once more. Audrey lets out a sigh. She cannot wait for tomorrow to be here so that her sister would stop having a nervous breakdown once every five seconds.

   After a really long day, it’s finally Christmas Eve. On the day itself, Audrey woke up at five in the morning. Not voluntarily, since she was woken up by the sounds of Al shadow sparring really loudly.

   “...Al, may I inquire about your intention of exercising this early?” Audrey asks as patiently as she could possibly be.

   Upon hearing Audrey's voice, Al stops her shadow sparring at once.

   “Sorry for waking you up, nee-san. It’s just that I’m too nervous to fall asleep.” Al explains while panting from all the exercising.

   “Please allow me to take a guess. You are still nervous about the party.”

   Al nods her head in confirmation rather sheepishly.

   “Al, there is no point in being nervous over a party, of all things.” Audrey points out.

   “I know that, nee-san! But-”

   “Yes?” Audrey encourages when Al stops herself mid-sentence.

   “Nee-san, do you remember my birthday when I was ten?”

   “I do. It left a particularly deep impression on me as you were, as opposed to your previous birthdays, very impatient for it to arrive.” Audrey recalls. “What about it?”

   “Actually, the reason I was excited for it was I had friends to celebrate it with.”

   “Ah, that explained the reason you were absent for an entire afternoon. And you actually made friends. Good for you.”

   All of a sudden, Al has a very sad look on her face. Audrey feels that she has accidentally stepped on a landmine.

   “They weren’t my friends, nee-san. They only got close to me after hearing that I was a Graylock. I found that out the really hard way. My point is, I’m worried that these new friends of mine are just the same as those so-called “friends” I made back then.”

   Audrey gets up from her bed and walks towards Al. She then puts her hands on her shoulders.

   “Al, I understand that you were traumatized by your past experience. However, you have to move on from it. You yourself understand that too, which is why you had the desire to organize the party, yes?”

   “...Yes.”

   “So please, have faith in those friends of yours and more importantly, have faith in yourself.”

   It took Al a few seconds to reply.

   “I understand, nee-san.”

   “Good. Now go back to sleep. You don’t want to tire yourself before you manage to have fun, do you?”

   “Okay.”

   Once the two sisters have woken up for the second time on the same day, they had a simple breakfast which consists of two pieces of pancakes with a piece of butter on top and a cup of plain yogurt.

   “I’m off to check on the things needed for the party, nee-san.” Al said to Audrey the moment she was done eating and doing the clean-up.

   “Are you certain that you do not need my help?”

   “Pretty sure. I can deal with them all with simple phone calls.” Al assures.

   “If that is the case, off you go. And never hesitate to ask me for help should you require it.”

   “Got it. Thanks, nee-san.”

   Al has been rather mysterious in this preparation of hers. She is even excluding Audrey on the details. According to her, she wants to keep it a surprise until the very last minute. Whatever she was doing, it only took her around ten minutes.

   “It’s all done now, nee-san. Now we just wait for the party to start.” Al reports when she returns to their room.

   “That is good to hear.”

   “And now, for my daily dose of BL!” Al says excitedly to herself as she stretches her body.

   Audrey lets out a small sigh. After the talk with Minase, she has learned to accept her sister’s hobby. She has even exposed herself to a few of the said literature. Even so, she could not bring herself to accept the literature itself. It is, as she has told Minase, too unnatural.

   “Just remember not to get too engrossed in it until you forget your surroundings.” Audrey warns.

   “I won’t, nee-san. I’m not THAT addicted to it.”

   “Do I have to remind you of the time you spent the entire night reading that literature instead of studying for your exam?”

   A few seconds of silence.

   “...Point taken. I will be sure to not lose myself this time.”

   “Please do.”

   While Al is busy with her hobby, Audrey decides to study. The nearest exam is still three months away, but that does not give her an excuse to slack off. Eventually, it’s time for lunch. Al volunteers to cook since Audrey was the one who made them breakfast. The end product was a rather decent-looking grilled chicken chop, baked potato wedges and some salad.

   “Your cooking skills have improved, Al.” Audrey compliments as they eat.

   Al blushes at the compliment.

   “Thank you, nee-san. I’m just glad I stopped making toxic wastes.”

   “You and I both, Al. You and I both.”

   Both Audrey and Al shudder collectively as they recalled their past failures. One of them even includes an exploded kitchen.

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   “I’ve tried to convince my classmates that they should try their hands on cooking sometimes.” Al brings up all of a sudden.

   “And what did they say?”

   “Some of them were interested, but they said that their parents will never allow them to do anything that resembles house chores.”

   “I suppose they should thank their lucky stars that we do not have Home Economy Classes.” Audrey says dryly.

   “And a few said that they’re scared of handling knives and other dangerous-looking kitchen tools. Man, they’re nice people and all, but they should really be braver.”

   “Not everyone is used to handling dangerous tools, Al.”

   “Still, they can practice, right? It’s not like we’re experts at it right from the get-go. That’s what I told them, but-”

   The lunch session between the two sisters are often carried out this way, where Al talks about her daily lives with her classmates and Audrey mostly listening and joining in occasionally.

   “Say nee-san, I’ve been wondering about this for a while now.”

   “Yes?”

   “Are you getting along with your classmates?”

   A pause.

   “Where did that come from?”

   “I mean, I’ve never heard you talking about them, like ever.”

   Audrey lets out a sigh.

   “It is true that I have a hard time fitting in.” she confesses. “They are polite enough, but they usually keep to themselves.”

   “Are you being bullied, nee-san?” Al asks while looking a bit alarmed.

   Audrey shakes her head.

   “No, it is nothing like that.”

   “Hmm, I’m not an expert on this kind of thing, but there’s a high possibility that your classmates just find you hard to approach.”

   “...I beg your pardon?”

   “I mean, you always have this cool-beauty aura which makes it difficult to talk to you.”

   “I do not!” Audrey protests. “Wait a second. Is that the reason it took you an entire year to open up to me?”

   “Pretty much, yes.”

   Audrey couldn’t believe her ears.

   “Well, I’m sure that they’ll open up to you one of these days, just like how I did!” Al says, perhaps in an attempt to cheer Audrey up.

   “...Thank you, Al.”

   Soon, it’s around an hour away for the party to begin. Al is getting restless again, so Audrey suggested to head to the venue earlier, which the former agrees.

   Audrey accompanies Al to head to the cafeteria located inside the dormitory that they live in, for it is the venue for the Christmas party. They have received permission to use the place as they see fit in advance, so they have it all to themselves for the entire evening. The place is already decorated with a Christmas Tree and the usual decorations. Therefore, lots of time has been saved.

   “Al, are you sure that all the required preparations have been completed?” Audrey asks after taking in the scenery in one shot.

   “Pretty sure, nee-san. Why do you ask?”

   “Where are all the foods and refreshments?”

   “Ah, those. I’m having them delivered, and they’re scheduled to arrive around twenty to thirty minutes before the party starts.”

   “Delivered, you say? What exactly are you serving your guests?”

   “You’ll know when they arrive.” Al says mysteriously.

   Audrey shrugs. If Al wants to keep it a secret for now, she’s not going to pry anymore.

   “I hope nothing bad happens later…” Al mumbles with a worried tone all of a sudden.

   Audrey was about to go on a full lecture mode telling Al to stop being so pessimistic when seven students entered the cafeteria. Audrey recognizes all of them. They are all classmates of Al.

   Al stares at them with her jaws dropped.

   “Good afternoon, Aldenia-san and Audrey-san.” one of them greets. “We arrived earlier so that we could offer help.”

   That got Al back to reality.

   “Are you, um, saying that you’re attending the party?”

   The question understandably confused the students.

   “Well, yes. We are here for that exact reason.”

   Al looks at Audrey like she couldn’t believe what she just heard.

   “You have ordered enough food for all these people, yes?” Audrey asks just in case.

   “Definitely. Them and a lot more.” comes a soft reply.

   “As I have said, we are here to help.” the first student who spoke continues. “Is there anything that you need us to do?”

   “Actually, there isn’t anything for us to do.” Al tells her and the rest of their classmates sheepishly. “All I planned was a simple party where we eat food, chat and have a good time.”

   “Pardon me for asking this, but pray tell, where is the said food?”

   “Well-”

   Al was interrupted when her phone vibrated several times. She takes it out from her pocket to inspect it.

   “Oh, speaking of them. Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

   Al leaves the cafeteria immediately, leaving Audrey with her sister’s classmates. They look at each other awkwardly. Audrey decides to make the first move.

   “Let us sit down while we await Aldenia’s return.” she suggests.

   The girls agree, and all of them sit down at some of the available benches. Audrey tries her best to ignore the fact that none of them are sitting next to or even near her.

   “Are all of you the only ones who are attending this party?” she asks instead.

   “Not at all. Others have promised to join, but will only arrive when the party begins for real.” one of them replies.

   “I see. That is good to hear.”

   Audrey couldn’t help but chuckle.

   “The thing is, that silly girl was worried sick that no one would attend this party. I was glad that she was proven wrong.” she explains before she was assumed to have completely lost her marbles.

   “We would never agree to attend in the first place if we could not!” another girl says hurriedly.

   Her classmates nod their heads a few times in agreement vigorously.

   “In any case, please continue to get along with her.” Audrey says while inclining her head.

   Soon, Aldenia returns while being accompanied by several security guards. All of them are carrying bags made of either plastic or paper with the logo of a chain restaurant printed on top.

   “Are those supposed to be the food you ordered, Al?” Audrey asks.

   Al grins widely.

   “They sure are, nee-san.” she replies as she puts down her share of the bags on a random table.

   “Um, I know I am stating the obvious, but those are mostly from fast food restaurants.”

   “That’s the point, nee-san. I’m pretty sure the ladies here have never eaten one of these before.”

   Once the security guards had put down the food, they left the cafeteria immediately after giving a polite nod. According to the rules regarding visitors in Kitajoshi, no employees of outside food establishments are ever allowed to set foot in the school. That is the precise reason the security guards were mobilized to help Al carry the food she ordered.

   Al’s classmates surround the foreign food (at least to them) curiously and excitedly.

   “I am expressly forbidden from eating these “fast food”.”

   “As do I.”

   “Ah, well. We will simply keep it a secret from our parents.”

   A few giggles were heard.

   “Thank you so much for exposing us to this culture, Aldenia-san.” one of them says to Al gratefully.

   “You’re very much welcome.” Al says while grinning. “Let’s just wait until the others arrive, okay?”

   “Of course.”

   In the end, everyone whom Al has invited to the party has shown up. All of them were extremely excited to eat the so-called commoners’ food for the first time. Overall, all of them, especially Al, had a great time.

   “I had so much fun at the party!” Al says happily as her and Audrey are back at their room.

   Audrey smiles warmly at her. “I am glad for you, Al.”

   “I just wished that you joined us while we were chatting with each other.”

   “I apologize for being rude, but I wish no part in a discussion about BL.” Audrey rejects firmly.

   “Aww…”

   When they got back to their room, they exchanged presents with each other. Audrey got Al a signature from her favorite BL author.

   “I happened to bump into her as I was taking a stroll.” she explains as her younger sister is staring at the signed white board with sparkling eyes. “I was glad that you showed me what she looked like, or I would have missed her for sure.”

   “Thank you, nee-san! Thank you so much!” Al says gratefully.

   As for Audrey, she received an electric eye massager from Al.

   “You were always staying up late to handle things at the student council, so I got you this.”

   “Thank you, Al. I will be sure to use it frequently.”

   “Say, nee-san. Is Christmas fun?”

   “Well, somewhat I suppose.”

   “Does that mean that we could celebrate it again next year?”

   “Yes, I suppose we could.”

   “Yay!”

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