3 The Nagai Family

Chapter 3

Title: The Nagai Family

--

Once the whole ordeal with the grand welcome was over Reiko was escorted to a luxurious room. It even had a balcony that faced the beautiful garden of this manor.

"Young Miss, this will be your bedroom. I hope it is to your liking."

Reiko nodded her head. "It's nice."

She could see the brown-haired maid brighten up at her simple words. "The family meeting will be held tomorrow. Until then, please make yourself comfortable. If any problems arise, please send a pulse of mana through this."

She was given a bell. "Young Miss before I leave, do you have any questions or requests?"

"Yes. I want you to bring a few books dealing with advanced magic. Don't make me wait long."

The brown-haired maid seemed to be delighted as she had gotten her first order from the Young Miss. She bowed her head and quickly left. Not even bothering to question why someone this young would want books on advanced magic.

It took no longer than ten minutes before a pile of books was delivered to her room.

'The manor I lived in didn't have as many books as this one. Of course, it's because the one from before was a temporary manor meant for housing nobles during the four-year period.'

Reiko chose to enjoy her reading on the balcony of her room. After all, the sun was shining and the view of the garden was beautiful. It was a peaceful place, so why not?

She sat on the rocking chair that she'd moved from inside her room to the balcony. The scent of flora entered her nose as a gentle breeze brushed across her face.

"Mn...this is really relaxing." Reiko rocked on the chair while flipping through pages.

After an hour of reading, she was fully immersed in the books of magic. Reiko was so immersed in fact, she didn't even notice the people on the balcony further down staring at her.

'If a wielder of dark magic is closely attuned with their attribute, the possibility of them being able to use the shadows as a method of transportation is highly probable. This will take a great amount of time as the dark attribute is not only dangerous to others, but also the wielder. The wielder must kno-'

She was cut off by the sound of someone calling out to her. When Reiko turned towards the cause of the noise she was surprised to see who it was.

The first person was a rather tall boy with greyish hair and red eyes. Beside him was a girl, a little shorter than he was, with light-blonde hair with blue eyes. Even without knowing who they were beforehand, Reiko was sure these two were her siblings.

"Hey! Little girl!" The red-eyed boy called out.

"Is there something you need?" She said with a not so polite tone.

He seemed surprised by how she responded but decided to ignore it.

"Who are you? What's your name? Are you my sister? Will you call me big brother? What are you reading?"

Reiko, who was bombarded with questions, felt a tick form on her forehead. A deep breath escaped her mouth before she answered.

"My name is Reiko Nagai. Yes, I am your sister. It depends. What I am reading is none of your concern. Since that answers all your questions, I'll be going now."

With her peaceful reading session being interrupted, she no longer wanted to continue.

Reiko laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her mind traveled back to the information she gained from the few books she'd read.

She was able to finish a total of two advanced magic books in that short span of time.

While it may not sound like much, things like this were something only grand sorcerers could accomplish. For someone of her age to achieve a feat like that, it was definitely something to be proud of.

'If I can have full control over my dark attribute I'll be able to use it without any disadvantages. While I don't necessarily care for how it affects other people, I do care for how it affects me. With that being said.. being able to travel through shadows is pretty cool..'

Reiko would never admit that one of the main reasons she wanted full control over her dark attribute was to travel through shadows.

Not only would it allow for easier travel, but it could also be used to eliminate people without anyone noticing.

"I should start looking for abilities to steal soon. Hopefully, someone has something useful.." Lost in thought, Reiko didn't realize how much time had already passed. Outside the sun was now setting and the light of the moon began to show.

After a long day of ceremonies and welcomings, Reiko finally decided to close her eyes and rest. 'There's much more to do tomorrow though..'

~~~

[Next Day - Dining Room]

Currently, a family with the surname known as Nagai was gathered in a large dining room. As they stared at the two white doors waiting to be opened, interest and curiosity shone on their faces.

After all, it had been more than ten years since the last Nagai was born.

Suddenly, the door opened with a small girl walking through. Her skin was pale-white and tender, almost like an infant. Her silky white hair flowed down to her shoulders, while her piercing red eyes showed an unusual indifference. It was unlike the usual expression of innocence children had.

She slowly made her way over to the empty seat with the eyes of everyone following her.

Reiko looked towards her father who stood up with a small smile on his face.

"Everyone, I'm sure you know why we've gathered here. I'd like to welcome the newest addition to our family, our precious daughter and your little sister, Reiko Nagai." He said proudly.

She nodded at his words before her eyes traveled over to the two she saw yesterday. "I didn't catch your name yesterday. Will you tell me it, big brother?"

"I'm Renji and the one next to me was Aria."

A small blush appeared on his face.

"And sorry for all those questions, I was just curious about you..."

Everyone at the table showed confusion.

"We saw each other while sitting outside. I didn't expect her room to be down from mine." Renji explained.

"How unfair! You got to see our cute little sister before anyone else! By the way, I'm Kira."

It then went down with everyone else introducing themselves.

"I'm Reina."

"My name is Nori."

"I'm the twin of Kira, please call me Shinzu."

"As father said, my name is Reiko. I hope we get along well, my dear siblings."

...