39 Thus, I got... kidnapped

Part 1

3rd Person POV

In a bedroom, located in a certain castle. A little girl was sleeping soundly on her bed, her breathing was steady, and showed no sign of being disturbed. However, she was not alone in her room, beside the sleeping girl, there was a figure sneaky walking in the room in a silent manner. Step by step the figure carefully strode closer to a desk located inside the room and started to examine each drawer, until the figure found and locked one.

"Fufu, found you " The figure whispered in a cheery female voice. "Jeez, So-tan is so cruel, hiding things from her Onee-chan "

Skillfully picking the lock of the drawer with a tool kit she brought with her, the figure opened the drawer in an instant.

"Great " The figure silently cheered. "Nanashi-sensei skills always come in handy, thank you for teaching me "

Offering her thanks to someone who was obviously not present, the figure pulled from the drawer the only thing kept there, a small pink notebook. It was pink and had flowers and hearts draw on the cover, a small label was written with beautiful handwriting, saying 'My diary, do not peek. I am serious, Onee-chan you idiot'.

"Hmmm, she always hides that she likes cute things from me, that is no good but I cannot tell her how I found out about it. This is quite the problem, Sirzechs-chan must have the same troubles as an older brother so maybe I could ask him for advice " The figure nodded convincingly.

Despite her words, the figure started to read the last entries.

"Now then~ Let's find out why So-tan has been feeling down lately, as her Onee-chan, it is my duty to do so~" The figure whispered in a self-righteous manner.

Her actions were not something an older sister should be doing, but the person who usually retorted to such a thing was soundly sleeping with a smile on her face while hugging a dragon plushie.

"I see, I see, so that is what happened. The boy went to spend some quality time at Sirzechs-chan's family castle. I remember that Grayfia-chan had been looking brighter lately so that was the reason. So-tan is envious and sad that she could not go, huh." The figure nodded. "Alrighty I know what to do. Hehe, So-tan will be delighted. This is a job for Magical Girl Levia-tan "

Finished with reading, the figure carefully put everything like it was before she arrived, as she was leaving the room, she looked at the sleeping girl and smiled before she left the room.

MC's POV

Another day had started and as I opened my eyes, I had to swallow a scream since the first thing I saw was a pair of beautiful and innocent blue eyes staring at me from a close distance.

Sh*t, there goes another one of my lives. It does not matter if cats have numerous lives, these kinds of scares are making them decrease pretty fast. What is she doing here? Intruding on my bedroom is not something I would expect from her.

Blinking, she kept staring at my eyes for some reason.

"How odd, your eyes look like him~" The blue-eyed intruder whispered.

Little by little, I could feel my surprised heart calming down and I grasped my situation.

A beautiful girl who looks like she is in her twenties is almost straddling me and is staring at my eyes in a distracted manner. I was confused, and many questions appeared in my head. However, I first did the most important thing, check my surroundings. Using Senjutsu, I could locate Kuroka who had been playing games with Shirone in their room until late today so they fell asleep in their room. Artoria, Alice, Akiko, and Marion are sleeping in their rooms given their calm responses to my Ki so I can only wonder how did this person arrive here unnoticed.

"It is really a strange feeling but I guess it doesn't matter " The intruder concluded and directed a smile at me.

Please, think about our current positions, they are quite compromising so don't use that deadly weapon on me, you are quite charming already.

"Sorry~ I will have you to come with me for a bit, ah, do not worry, I let her know that I was going to do this already " The blue-eyed intruder muttered, and before I could question her back, a magic circle formed behind her.

With that, it shined and my vision blurred before finding myself lying on some bed.

"I am a little tired so I will sleep for a bit, night~" The intruder said that in a nonchalant tone.

Just like that, she lied down beside me and used her right arm to hug someone I found familiar and her left arm to hug me. It was less than a second before she fell asleep.

Honestly, it was more than what my mind could process after standing up so I just went with the flow and closed my eyes. How can I resist Sera-tan?

I had woken up pretty early to train, but this whole situation messed my schedule so I might as well sleep, the sun was still ways off from showing anyways.

Part 2

3rd Person POV

Shaking left and right, a black-haired boy was tossing around on a large bed. A pair of cat ears were on top of his head and he had an annoyed expression but he seemed asleep. Something must've been bothering him in his sleep, that is the most common line of thoughts, and it was right. A girl of the same age, who had black hair and pink eyes, was continuously poking his cheeks with her fingers while sitting on the bed.

"Jeez, why are you nonchalantly sleeping like that? I suddenly woke up in a completely different bed from mine and with you hugging me, it was tough to make you release me, and when I finally broke free, I found a note from Onee-chan." The girl complained. "She said that she will be back soon, and she left us to sleep like that while she makes arrangements, and while I am worried about what she is doing, you just soundly sleep there- Hya!"

The girl continued to poke the boy's cheek and he bit her in response, however, he quickly let go of her and went back to sleep.

"Meanie." The girl whined while sucking her bitten finger to ease the pain.

Nevertheless, the girl got embarrassed when she remembered that her finger had been in his mouth.

Covering her face with hands, she tried to calm down, but she was pulled to lay down on the bed, and a pair of arms wrapped her in a hug. The girl ended with her head resting on the boy's chest. Once again, she had been trapped.

"Nora-san, you idiot! Release me!" The girl tried to break free again.

However, her action only warned her a hand on her head patting her gently.

"It is not funny, if you are awake then let me go." The girl tried to but failed to leave his arms.

It was a little embarrassing that she was actually very comfortable and was getting sleepy again.

"How can you be still sleeping!? Nora-san, stop... *Yawn* playing... *Yawn* around..." The girl could hear his steady breathing so he was not awake.

Succumbing to the sleep demons, her eyelids got heavier and heavier until she closed them.

While she complained and whined to the sleeping boy, a frown covered her face, but now her expression had relaxed and a relaxed smile found its way into her face. Even while he sleeps, Nora continued to pat the girl on the head until she calmed down, and so, both continued to sleep soundly.

...

...

...

Observing the sleeping duo, a figure clad in a pink magical girl outfit had arrived in the bedroom. Carefully pulling a camera, she took a couple of pictures from different angles and put back the camera to where she had it stored.

"How envious~ I want to join again, it is not fair that they sleep together like that without me~" Serafall muttered in a cheery tone, and despite saying that she was envious she just watched over them with a warm smile on her face. "It is still a while before the sun is up, good thinking that I moved to a place where it would take much longer for sunrise, hehe Oh, I should change, I can fool her thinking that I never left and Onee-chan was always hugging her~"

With just one move of her fingers, a magic circle appeared below her and it moved upwards, along with it, her outfit changed into a sleeping nightgown. Carefully making her way to the bed, Serafall took a position where she and Nora sandwiched the pink-eyed girl in a hug. Before going to sleep, she gently patted both of their heads. It did not take long before she fell prey to the sleep demons as well.

Sona's POV

Angrily tapping her finger on a table, a girl with pink-colored eyes was glaring at the two figures sitting in seiza in front of her.

"Your excuses?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have none! Now, give your sister another hug, it is cold, you know~" Serafall muttered in a happy tone while extending her hands to her.

Sona took a few steps away from her big sister to avoid her and turned to look at Nora.

"If we took this to a court, I would win the case. You guys kidnapped me and now I am being punished for sleeping? I demand a lawyer." Nora spoke in a righteous tone.

Sona was not sure which one gave her the biggest headache.

She knew about it, her sister was the cause of all this. Nora could never pull off a kidnapping on both sisters and live to tell the tale. If her sister were to resist, the black cat will be no more so it was all Serafall's doing. However, he still slept with her, and that was embarrassing. She could not just accept it given that as a noble lady she had an appearance to keep. Regardless of the fact that it was one of the best naps she ever had.

"You guys don't plan to reflect on your actions, do you?" Sona questioned.

"Why~? I did nothing wrong~" Serafall cheerily said.

"I am a victim though?" Nora muttered.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sona took a deep breath and decided to stop doing this. Her Onee-sama was not going to change, and she felt bad for punishing Nora any longer.

"*Sigh* Onee-sama, where are we?" Sona asked.

"Hehe~ I brought you guys to a special place to have an adventure~" Serafall's stood up and struck a pose as she pointed at the window.

Following what Serafall was pointing at, Sona could only see the curtains covering what she believed to be a large window.

"Oops, I forgot to open them." Serafall awkwardly said.

With a simple movement of her hand, a magic circle appeared, and a small breeze opened the curtain, letting everyone see what was behind the glasses, a snowy landscape as far as the eye can see.

"*Cough* As I was saying, this is a special place to have an adventure~" Serafall excitedly exclaimed. "There is supposed to be a treasure lying in wait for us somewhere out there, we just need to find it. It is a rumor I heard, but on this land, there is a hidden village, and in that village, there is a clue to find the treasure."

Putting a pair of familiar-looking glasses, Serafall explained.

"It will surely be a difficult journey if we were separated, but as long as So-tan is with Onee-chan, there is nothing to worry about. Why? Because I am here~ If I have So-tan with me, I am ten times stronger than usual!" Serafall spoke full of drive.

"...why am I even here?" Nora muttered crestfallen.

Thinking that he looked a bit adorable with his droopy ears, Sona saved that picture on her mind before she looked back at her sister, there was something that Sona had to say no matter what.

"Ah, no. It is not like that, yes! If you add Nora-chan to the equation... t-then, I am eleven, no, t-twelve?" Serafall tried to cheer up Nora. "Fifteen times stronger! Jeez~ That is my last offer so cheer up!"

Poking boy's cheeks with her finger, Serafall tried to coax him.

Sona saved another image that she could use to brag about too, that Rias, she was too smug when she said that she was a lot friendlier to Nora than her. However, Sona had to retort about something no matter what.

"Onee-sama, why do you have my glasses? The reason I didn't have them when I woke up..." Sona took a step closer to her sister. "Was it for you to explain us about the treasure?"

The pink-eyed girl got the feeling that the answer would not be a serious one, but-

"Hehe~ I look smarter this way~" Serafall winked playfully.

Striking a pose, Serafall had her left hand making a peace sign raised at her face level, as she winked.

The jiggling of certain parts of her body irritated Sona a bit, however, she was initially irritated for something else.

"Onee-sama, it is scolding time, but before that, give me my glasses!" Sona spoke.

...

...

...

"At least you prepared everything properly." Sona exasperatedly said.

They all had changed into appropriate and warm clothes after Serafall was scolded again. Sona is certain that her sister ignored 90% of what she said, no, she listened to it until the end, but she won't change her way of doing things for a simple scolding. Using coats, boots, and gloves, they were ready to walk outside without fearing getting cold. It bothered her slightly that Nora's black coat had a normal-looking hood while hers had bunny ears, matching with her sister that was wearing something similar, the sisters were wearing white all over them.

They had left the small mansion where they had been staying and were going on foot, the village that Serafall had mentioned was not far and after going through a small forest, they would arrive. The weather was clear although there was still a lot of snow covering everything so it was cold outside.

"If the cold bothers Sona-tan, I can melt the ice, all the snow around us~" Serafall said with a bright smile.

"Serafall-san, I think that it wouldn't be good idea." Nora retorted.

Pouting, Serafall stopped and glared at Nora. The boy shrunk slightly and scratched his cheek.

"Sorry." Nora awkwardly apologized.

Fearing that her sister might overreact with her over-protectiveness like she usually did, Sona thought that she should speak up.

"Wrong! That is no good! Jeez, Nora-chan, why are you using '-san'? I don't like it." Serafall said.

Standing in front of Nora, she lowered herself to match his height, although she didn't have to do it that much. Serafall made sure that Nora could see her childishly pout.

"Nora-san, my sister dislikes formalities, so please be more at ease with her." Sona spoke.

Feeling a bit bewildered, Sona did not know that her sister got along that well with Nora, she knew they met once before but to think she liked him enough to be open with her. Being called '-san' by those she likes always puts her sister in a bad mood.

"Eh... Serafall?" Nora muttered hesitating.

"No, no, no! I don't want that either. It is not cute at all~" Serafall whined.

Watching as her 'older sister started to throw a tantrum, Sona felt a bit embarrassed, not to mention a bit apologetic for Nora. Besides his complaints that were more of a joke when they were in the room, he just shrugged his shoulders and followed after them as nothing happened. Her sister could be quite pushy so Sona was thankful that Nora was understanding and patient. Given his troubled look, Sona pondered for a moment before arriving at the most plausible answer for the boy's dilemma, although it was embarrassing.

"Nora-san... while it is a little embarrassing, why don't you call her... Levia-tan?" Sona spoke in a low tone.

It was truly on a new level, to ask your friend to call your sister as such.

"...alright." Nora helplessly nodded. "Levia-tan?"

Her older sister will finally be pleased, that was Sona's thought.

"Nora-chan! You idiot!" Serafall complained. "Why are you being like that? Is it because we have not seen each other? Is it the rebellious phase? Noooo~ I liked the way you called me at the time more!"

Rather than being pleased, she was now throwing her tantrum on the ground. Serafall was rolling on the ground from left to right, every time she stopped, the blue-eyed devil would swing her fist and feet in protest.

"You were serious at that time?" Nora covered his face with both hands.

At that time? Sona was curious about what he meant, it was something that probably happened when they both first met so Sona was not sure what happened, when her sister told her that Nora had been rescued, she never asked what they spoke, she had only felt relieved from the bottom of her heart. Making a real friend was hard for pure-blooded devils, the people who get close to them always seek either money or connections rather than being interested in the individuals they are, Rias and her are well aware of it.

Carefully, Sona walked closer to hear it. Even Serafall who was protesting on the snow had stopped, and you could see a hint of anticipation in her expression.

"Sera-tan, Sera-tan, SERA-TAN! There, I said it, happy?" Nora exclaimed.

A blush covered his face and he could look at anyone in the eyes, he just stared at the ground. Somehow, Sona got the feeling that such a sight could be rare so she saved it in her mind. There was a spell she once read about, it could turn memories into images, and while the difficulty was pretty high, to brag to the cheeky Rias, Sona will study hard.

Serafall did a comeback and she happily jumped.

"Yay~ You finally said it, yes, you can call me Sera-tan " Serafall cheerfully said.

It seemed that they got along better than she expected so there was no need to interview anymore, Sona was certainly not sulking because he called her sister with an embarrassing-but-cute nickname.

"...we are leaving." Sona muttered.

She started to walk away, leaving behind Serafall and Nora.

"She seems mad, if I call her Sona-tan, will she cheer up?" Nora spoke.

Even at her distance, she could hear them talking nonsense.

"That is a great idea, Nora-chan, let us cheer So-tan together " Serafall instantly approved.

Sona had once seen certain maid of the Gremory household slap a certain someone with a Maou position with a paper fan once, she wondered if that was a special model or anything would work, Sona thought that perhaps with that she could cure the two idiots behind her before they embarrass her to death.

Part 3

Serafall's POV

It was nice to see her sister was full of spirit again, she who could not be honest sometimes and say that she did not like cute things, or that she was lonely. Her dear Imouto, Sona, always tried to be a good child and behave in an exemplary manner, the girl who was just a child did not need to be so stiff but she was very stubborn.

It pained her to see her work so hard. The fact she had to inherit the Sitri household and carry that weight on her tiny shoulders always made Serafall sad, as her older sister, she wished to be more helpful but some rules were made about the Maou having to abandon their positions in their families.

Those old geezers, if Sona happened to suffer from stress thanks to them, Serafall considered freezing them to death.

"Sona-chan, I think your sister is making a scary face." Nora muttered.

"...it happens when she thinks of a couple of things, paperwork is among those thoughts." Sona replied.

"Paperwork is scary." Nora solemnly said.

"They say that war (paperwork) is endless, and I believe that they meant this. The Maous always work hard for the peace of the Underworld." Sona explained.

"...If you only knew that, it is easy to respect them, however, Sera-tan kidnapped me on her free day (I hope) to have an adventure..." Nora bitter spoke.

"I am truly sorry for the actions of this sister of mine." Sona apologized.

"Don't be so stiff, we are besties, aren't we? I don't mind. That said, I would have come if you had asked me." Nora responded.

It was awkward to suddenly join in the conversation of the two so Serafall kept walking with the same expression to avoid interrupting them.

She was happy that her sister was more talkative. Nevertheless, it is hard to hold back the feeling of wanting to pamper her to allow her to chat with her friend. She had to hold it, this travel was for her sister's sake, so she could have bonding time with Nora.

Lost in thoughts, she missed when Nora had gotten in front of her, while he moved the palm of his hand left and right to call her attention, he seemed to be talking.

"Sera-tan, you ok? We are close to the village, Sona-chan was worried about you so she was wondering if you were feeling ill." Nora poked her cheeks when she finally looked at him.

"I was not worried, I just thought that Onee-sama getting sick was unusual." Sona looked away.

That was called being worried, Serafall thought so and she moved at a speed difficult to follow with the eye and grabbed Sona by her armpits before throwing her in the air.

"So-tan~ You were worried about your Onee-chan, right? Hehe~ Do not worry, your sister is invincible " Serafall exclaimed in a joyful tone.

"Onee-sama, let me down!" Sona shouted in protest.

Every time Serafall caught her sister, she would spin around and throw her in the air again. The process repeated a couple of times until the embarrassed Sona spread her wings and flew away.

"Onee-sama! You bully!" Sona went in the village's direction.

Receiving some damage from those words, Serafall was momentarily frozen.

"You don't need to worry about it, she is not angry. She was just feeling shy." Nora patted her back.

It made her react again.

"If you promise to keep this a secret, I could tell you something I noticed about Sona-chan." Nora whispered.

There was no need to do so given how they were the only people (devils-cat) around, but Serafall was not planning to retort, she only made a gesture over her mouth that she won't talk. Her sister had a faint smile when she flew away. I think she was not angry, but perhaps Sera-tan needs to pamper her when I am not looking. She is shy after all." Nora commented.

Why could she feel like befriending this child was some sort of fate? She liked him, this child was a good one. Anyone who helps her to get along with Sona is an ally.

Nonetheless, he is a child so she wondered if she should be more Onee-chan-ish with him. Serafall knows that this child is strong and mature, but she got the feeling that he was lonely.

Her sister's friends are her friends, and she must try to pamper them as much.

"You see, I don't think you need to hold back. Earlier, you were trying to be read the mood and let us talk, right? Well, I think that Serafall Leviathan does not need that. A cheerful Sera-tan is more like how it should be, you are the type to brighten the mood around you, and yes, your little sister perhaps felt like talking with me since we don't get that many chances, however, she will never be happy if her dear Onee-chan starts acting strange and takes her distance." Nora said. "Well, I am also a bit of a fan myself. A fan of Sera-tan."

Awkwardly scratching his cheek, the boy said something that made Serafall smile. As expected of Sona, she made a wonderful friend.

"Hehehe~ What a nice child, let me hug you " Serafall extended her hands.

When she was about to hug him, he evaded.

"Jeez~ why are you evading? Nora-chan should just let himself get caught." Serafall pouted.

"It is embarrassing after all so I believe you should do so to your dear sister instead of a stranger like." Nora backed away.

"Awww~ You are feeling shy as well~? Don't worry, no else is looking so let me pamper you too. Come on " Serafall moved behind Nora in an instant.

"I never had the option to run huh." Nora sighed. "Wait, why did you allow Sona-chan to escape?"

Carrying Nora and hugging him before throwing him like he to Sona, Serafall smiled before catching him. She leaned closer to his ears and spoke in a low tone of voice.

"She looks cute when she runs~" Serafall said. "Besides, she would hate if I am too pushy, so I give her space. I love my sister after all "

When she finished saying that, Serafall kept advancing while she continued throwing Nora high in the air. It must be noted that she is not, under any circumstances using the information she heard from Grayfia to her advantage. Serafall would never use the fact that Nora cannot fly yet to her advantage.

...

...

...

After Serafall and Nora caught up to Sona, they found her standing in front of a small sign that pointed at the village.

"Onee-sama, this is the place you spoke of?" Sona inquired.

When she saw her doing that while she pushed up her glasses, Serafall had to stop herself from jumping and doting her for looking cool.

"...Is that Russian? So I ended up in Russia huh." Nora sighed as he stood up in front of the sign.

Removing a bit of the snow that had pulled up, he left the sign spotless. He had even pulled a hammer to fix a nail that was sticking out. Serafall inwardly added the word 'diligent' to his mental profile.

"Nora-san, you can read what it says?" Sona asked.

Serafall felt a bit shocked that she lost her chance to show off in front of her sister, but she had to admit that her inner conflict overtaking or not taking photos of her Imouto took more time than usual.

"Well, it is not that complicated to get. It says 'Hope', 'Welcome to Hope'." Nora muttered.

Avoiding answering, he just provided the name of the village. Serafall thought that it was odd that he knew this particular language since devils only have the skill to understand spoken languages and not read them, but if she learned on his own that would be another thing. She added 'smart' to his profile.

"Ahem, let me take over from here." Serafall raised her voice.

She sounded a bit impatient since Sona focused on Nora, but she had to speak given that she planned all this outing.

"There is said to be a special stone that can power up devils... or rather, it helps to improve magic power attack, it works for both humans and devils so it was sought for a long time." Serafall pushed up her imaginary glasses (Sona took hers). "So~ We are trying to find it, I got a hold of its whereabouts thanks to my job. How about, isn't it exciting~?"

In a hyped tone, Serafall cheerfully explained. She could see how Sona and Nora shared a look before receiving a dubious stare from her sister. She took some Onee-chan damage since she could see the doubtful expression her sister had. However, there was still a hint of excitement so not everything was lost.

"Onee-sama, are you sure that you were not bring pranked? Such a convenient thing is laying around here and no one came looking for it, it sounds strange." Sona reasoned.

It was a reasonable question to have, as expected of her dear sister.

"Hehe~ Naive, you are such a naive girl, So-tan." Serafall shook her index finger left and right. "Everyone has given up in their quest to bring it home, so it is still lying somewhere near here. We should go and start asking around, we need to find some clues. Alrighty! Magical Team! Depart "

Serafall grabbed Sona by her hand and pulled her before she could start asking questions again.

"Onee-sama, I can walk. Let me walk by myself...!" Sona protested in vain.

Serafall wouldn't let go of her hands.

"I am not a mage though..." Nora's retort reached her when they were at some distance away.

His words aside, Serafall had almost forgotten to bring him along so she turned back at full speed and grabbed Nora the same way she did to Sona before running off. Magical Team was on their way and no one will stop them.

Nevertheless, the village had people guarding the entrance and they were stopped. It would've been bad if they acted more suspiciously and weren't allowed to ask around, they wouldn't be able to go on an adventure and all her preparations would be for naught.

Part 4

MC's POV

Highly suspicious, that was my first thought regarding that 'stone'. Regardless, Serafall Leviathan is someone who defies logic in many meanings. As a fan of her in the Canon, I cannot deny that I find going along with her crazy ideas would be the option I want to take. However, as someone with no role in the Canon, there is one thing I am afraid of... and that is my luck. It is not a joking matter, I am a black cat, no matter how lucky (lol) my appearance is, there is a big risk about following that amusing girl around. Will I be able to keep up? Maous are no joke, and Sona-chan has that protagonist halo (actually, Serafall halo would be more accurate) so she will be alright as long as her Onee-chan is here.

A slightly useless thought, but I wonder if I won't end up releasing some kind of strange creature after finding the 'treasure'. Lately, I have had this dream, it is quite realistic, and it is about me breaking some sort of seal.

Well, I think Serafall-san will protect me if I bribe her with pictures of Sona-chan so my safety would be covered.

That aside, I split from the sister duo to find some clues on my own. I enjoyed (very much) the hugs I received from Serafall-san, but I think that she needs to spend some time together with Sona-chan instead of a stranger like me. I feel bad for Sona-chan who looked eager to chat, but her sister's precious free day should be enjoyed among family. I will invite her to play at my place on another occasion.

With that determination in mind, I stopped wandering around the village and began my questioning mode. I already could understand any language that I got when I was sent here, but I will try to hide it with a devil's cheat abilities to talk any language. No one will really find it strange if I talk in their tongue, right? It is a good time to experiment in real-time if He(?) actually gave me a good ability.

...

...

...

Some problems were communicating, mainly due to fact that the people I spoke to were eager to take me to the house of the village chief since they thought I was the lost child from a tourist or something, but I manage to convince them otherwise. I started to ask about simple stuff like any custom dishes they prepare over here, and the old lady who got enthusiastic about it pulled a notebook from who knows where and handed it to me, so the first information I got was a bunch of home recipes from the old lady. I thought it would be rude so I handed her a few pages (which I pulled from my pouch) with mine, I had to write them on the spot... and it was only after that when I remembered what I was originally going to ask. The conversation went on and it arrived about the history of the village.

The details were long but it was basically founded with the efforts of a princess (I was not told who) that was on the run with the help of a guy who had rescued her. Some of her family members and servants were with them and they built this place. The princess and the guy had brought certain treasures of the imperial family with them but the old lady did not give too many details, she did not seem too eager to delve into details too much so I respected that and focused on the parts she could tell me about.

The story takes different routes depending on the ones telling the story, which the old lady explained that some say that the princess became lovers with the guy or it was the princess mother that become his lover, however, there was a detail that did not vary no matter the destiny of the guy, and that was the princess had to live a life hidden from regular people's eyes, and with the rumors of the village, strangers and travelers came by so at some point, to protect her safety, she set off with her close family members and the guy, they built a castle somewhere and lived happily together.

There were many parts I wanted to retort such as how they came to live happily together given that no matter the route, mother and daughter were said to have rather obvious interest for the guy, but... this is DxD world, I wouldn't find it strange if the guy ended up with both in a harem. Honestly, common sense in this world is on the verge of extinction, but I must say this, riajuus should explode, a beautiful (I think) princess and an attractive (I think) woman fell for the guy so I believe it is proper to wish he explodes.

Nonetheless, I did get some clues from that story, such as the treasure mentioned, and going by the fact that they bothered to bring that with them, it had to be important. The next clue is the castle, and regardless of the shuraba scenes I imagined, the probability of the treasure being there is very high.

One thing I was curious about and I asked was about the reason why the princess was on the run, but the question was dodged several times until the old lady told that it was a nonsensical reason about the princess being called a witch who had the power to create monstrous creatures. She told me that the real reason we're the Russian revolutions that put an end to the Tsuars. If I had to trust my guts, I would say that the old lady was adding the later parts to make me forget about the monsters, but I lack the proper historical knowledge to deny her claims. Heck, both things might even be real.

That said, creating monsters huh. Was that a Sacred Gear? Thanks to that troublesome guy who created those nonsensical artifacts, chaos is born everywhere.

The half-assed system is a major issue, and no one else knows how to fix it completely. I wish that someone gets the job done

What? Does that sound like a flag? Shadup! I am just a regular cat you can find everywhere.

I should regroup with Sona-chan and Serafall-san, I got some candies from the old lady so I should share those as well.

Sona's POV

It had been a rather unlucky harvest, her sister was too into it and she scared the villagers whenever she tried to ask a question. Even if her sister Serafall had high communication skills and diplomatic abilities, it is useless when she enters an excited state. Sona was well aware of pushy and exaggeration her sister could become when it was a topic related to herself. It is even more so when her sister tries to impress her. However, she cannot hate or dislike such a person, she was her sister and one of the people she admires the most.

As she had lowered her head to ponder about whether or not she should get a paper fan to calm her sister a little, she found Serafall staring at her from a close distance.

"So-tan? Are you sick? Does your tummy hurt? If you feel like going home, I will take you right away." Serafall spoke with a downcast expression.

The pink-eyed girl bitterly smiled, her sister had prepared everything for them to find a treasure or simply to have an adventure, she couldn't just leave, could she?

Shaking her head, she tried to look as healthy as possible... If that was even possible. Serafall sighed in relief and smiled brightly when she noticed that she was fine.

Just then, Nora's figure walked in their direction. He was looking at them with warm eyes, but Sona felt like he looked a bit lonely. Her sister also had furrowed eyebrows as she looked at him, Sona knows that her sister is very kind so it was not strange, but Serafall usually pays attention only to her.

"Don't get jealous, ok? Onee-chan will be right back " Serafall said with a playful wink.

Skipping in Nora's direction, she stood in front of him and began petting his head surprising the boy. Nora had a bewildered expression and he tilted his head as he looked at Sona for help.

However, Sona pouted a little. Her sister is such a bully, she, jealous? There is no way that was possible. If she didn't think that it was a bit embarrassing to ask such a thing aloud, Sona would pat his head as well, even his cat ears would not be spared, especially those ears.

...

...

...

"...and so, that is all I could find." Nora said. "It is hardly enough to be called a proper investigation, but I think it is a good start."

Finding an inn, Serafall rented a room for them to rest for a bit. Sona thought that her sister was overreacting but she insisted, thus they had no choice to do so. She left them by themselves after arranging someone to bring them something to fill their bellies while she went out to do something. Sona was left alone with Nora, and they spoke about their findings.

"You learned more than us, Onee-chan was too pushy." Sona grumbled.

Recalling how people kept dodging her questions and running away, Sona got mad. It was because her sister kept making scary faces whenever they tried to divert the topic that they ran away, she couldn't even try to talk things over or convince them that.

"What?" Sona asked in a sulky tone.

For a while now, Nora had been staring at her with a grin on his face.

"No, no, it is nothing at all... It is just..." Nora paused and grinned even wider. "You really love your 'Onee-chan', huh."

Mischievously laughing, he seemed to be having fun.

It was after he spoke that Sona found out that she made a mistake, a big one.

"You speak a word about it... and I will make you pay!" Sona immediately warned in a threatening tone, however, her blushing cheeks might not be something to scare other people.

Her demonic power spread over the room, and it would make someone with a weak heart faint. However, Nora just laughed and patted her head.

"I got to see a couple of great things thanks to you so I might as well follow what you say." Nora gently patted her head.

Inwardly cursing his comfortable caress of her hair, Sona decided to let him off the hook even though his words were rather worrying. She did not get many chances before, but she could feel that he had improved.

Tilting her head, Sona got curious about something.

"A couple of great things? What is that?" Sona asked with mild curiosity.

She did not recall showing anything 'nice' or 'great' so she was slightly confused.

"Well, I will safeguard that image of you calling Serafall-san 'Onee-chan', and reply it every time I have then- wow, careful there." Nora muttered.

Jumping from the bed where both were sitting, Nora evaded her right hook.

"Tsk." Sona clicked her tongue.

Glaring at Nora with what he later described as killing intent, Sona took deep breaths to calm down. She wondered if the mistake she committed today will haunt her forever, but she shook her head, it was scary to think about it.

"Sona-chan, I am glad that you learned to fight using hand-to-hand combat until you can concentrate such an amount of demonic power on your blows, but don't you think that a demonstration can be done without hitting me?" Nora said with a wry smile hanging on his lips. "Also, you clicked your tongue, right? You totally wanted to land that hit, right?"

Sweating slightly, Nora backed away.

Snorting, Sona did not reply. If he gets scared, he should stop doing that embarrassing thing he said so she can't show any weakness, Sona must act like she is angry and he will try to make it up to her. At this instant, Sona tried to put into practice what her mother told her to do when a boy she was 'very' friendly with made her angry. She was doubtful when her mother started to teach her this when she began going to school, but Sona got the feeling that this was the time to use what she learned.

"Alright, I won't do that, happy? Come on, don't sulk... I got some treats from the old lady I chatted with, I will share some with you." Nora said.

Following his words, he pulled a small paper bag with several candies and presented them to her. Before taking one, Sona wanted to know if she should be madder or if she should be more forgiving.

"...what is the other thing you were talking about?" Sona asked with half-closed eyes.

Sticking to a strict persona, she wanted to make him stop teasing her with something he comes up with on the spot.

"Oh, that? It is not a problem to tell you." Nora shrugged his shoulders. "You are very cute when you are embarrassed so I got to see something 'great' indeed."

"Jeez, idiot." Sona could look at him in the eye.

She had several complaints, and she received an unexpected ambush with that compliment, but she can't just honestly accept the praise and act like everything was ok. Her mother always warned her to not be swayed by every praise that comes her way, and she indeed had done that whenever she attended social gatherings, so many people spoke courtesy words that made her sick. However, her friend was different, she could feel that he was not trying to earn her favor, and he was honest.

"...Thanks." Sona spoke in a low tone of voice.

Her mother also said to treasure those she got along with so Sona should be a bit more honest with him, but only a bit.

Nora smiled in response, and Sona thought it was a good decision to let him off.

...

...

...

"Alrighty~ " Serafall muttered full of spirits. "Our goal is somewhere in that direction! We should start moving "

Raising her fist in the air, Serafall was excited.

"...why can't you guys just fly?" Nora retorted. "Walking will take us longer..."

Sona agreed with him. Serafall had suddenly intruded into the room and taken them to the village's exit. Without any explanation, she just pointed to a certain place a spoke.

Being aware of her sister's quirks, Sona just sighed, but perhaps Nora felt the need to be the straight man and retort to something that was beyond obvious. Her sister expected them to go on foot, but the way she pointed was a mountain valley. You were not able to see beyond the first mountain from their perspective.

"Non non~ Nora-chan, you have no spirit of adventure. Real adventures experience everything they can, even the journey can become a precious experience " Serafall chided. "That is why we must swallow our tears and become adventures so we can make wonderful memories~ "

Sona felt like she had heard something like that before, no, she read something similar.

Where was it? Such a nonsensical line that became her favorite in secret.

"Onee-sama, you read that book as well!?" Serafall asked in surprise.

For some reason, Nora was covering his face with both hands and kept muttering incomprehensible things like 'even the Maou shoujo read it'. However, Sona paid more attention to her sister. She was only interested in magical girl's anime and manga, which included books that she did not read unless they were light novels featuring magical girls.

"Yes~ it is a wonderful book, I took a look at it when I heard that So-tan loved it enough to sleep hugging it " Serafall happily said.

Now it was Sona's turn to cover her face and mutter incomprehensible things. Why did she know about it... Kuh, her mother must've taken some pictures, it only happened once... or twice... that she remembers.

"Now, it is time to go~ " Serafall excitedly shouted.

The adventure had not started, but Sona and Nora were already exhausted.

Part 5

MC's POV

How scary.

At some point, when we recklessly ventured into that mountain valley, Sona-chan reached her walking limit, I offered her to carry her on my back but Serafall-san's glare at that time made me see a recollection of my life. Was I close to dying that I got to see my whole life again? Nonetheless, the Magical Girl (who had regular warm clothes) just pouted. I planned to simply replenish her stamina but I almost got done in, adventures are a matter of life and death.

I had to coax Sona-chan to let me carry her, which she stubbornly refused to do but backed down when my physician soul-powered my words. Somehow, even Serafall-san turned a bit timid when that happened.

...

...

...

I think after that, we kept walking an hour or so before the wheater started to get cloudy which was not a good sign, but Serafall-san puffed her chest up (more than it was puffed by default, which was quite a bit) and reassured us that she would blow any storm that got in our way.

Once again, I thought she was unreasonable, but I did not feel like retorting when she stared at me with those pairs of innocent eyes. She means well so I find it difficult to nip pick.

Besides, could I even stop her? Not a chance.

Putting my inner conflicts aside, once we came upon those, I had one thought-

Serafall's POV

"...this is just like I expected, that old lady, she didn't only give me sweets, but she raised a damn flag." Nora grumbled.

"I understand your feelings, well, sort of, but please get ready to face- ah, you are already prepared." Sona spoke.

Taking a stance in front of Sona, Nora was standing with bow in hand. At some point he had pulled that bow from who knows where along with a quiver he equipped with practiced movements.

Serafall nodded at that display, she could only praise his perfect stance and the sharp look he directed at his front was something that only someone who tirelessly trained could do. However, what satisfied her the most was that he stood up in front of her sister to protect her. No, the boy had even taken a position between her sister and her, he wanted to cover for her.

Smiling wryly, Serafall thought that he was rather silly, but she also felt a bit touched, people might pamper her, but besides her family, no one really tried to protect her when they learned how strong she really was. It was a little lonely to be so strong, and she missed her dear sensei who would spoil her regardless of her strength or status. Maybe Nora will start acting differently when she shows her strength?

Shaking her head, Serafall took another look at what was in front of them. A large beast, similar to a wolf but it had over 3 meters in height and it was made of ice. It was growling their way as it observed them.

"...she went overboard." Serafall muttered in a low voice.

She thought that no one heard her but she failed to notice a small twitch on Nora's cat ears. She was slightly distracted by the multiple signals that had surrounded them. At some point, they had entered a forest area and it gave the ice-wolves an advantage, granting them coverage from their view was something that your average devil would find troublesome.

Frowning, Serafall began to gather her demonic power. She would crush these little things that can cause inconvenience for her dear sister. At a later time, Serafall will have to speak with her, she asked for something her sister could handle, not this. They are dangerous for the current Sona.

"...Stay back, there are more than the one in front around us. It won't take look before we are completely surrounded." Nora warned in a serious tone. "You guys should just fly away."

Tilting her head, Serafall found strange his choice of words, her sister also seemed to get what she found odd.

"...if we are flying, I will take you with me." Sona spoke in a resolute tone.

"Don't worry about it, I can fly just fine so you girls can leave first." Nora replied.

Lies, he lied. Serafall wanted teach him a lesson for lying to her sister.

Sona must felt something strange from the way he said since she pulled him by the shoulder and made him stare straight into her eyes.

Meanwhile, the ice-wolves were getting impatient, they were scared of her, but they advanced closer to their position. Serafall wouldn't allow such a thing.

"Ice coffins" Serafall chanted in a low tone of voice the name of her spell.

Having gathered the proper amount of demonic power, Serafall used the favorite spell of her sensei. Like he had drilled into her multiple times, she had to be careful of collateral damage. However, he was not here and Sona was in danger (not that much since she could fly away) so she won't show mercy.

Instantly after her words, ice emerged from several magic circles that had appeared below the ice-wolves. I grew in size and enveloped the creatures, it was way too sudden for them to react so by the time some of them thought of evading, they had already been encased in ice.

Even though Serafall felt like she would scare her sister and her friend, she kept a sunny smile to brighten the mood that had become stale after her actions.

Probably because her sister knew what she was capable of she did not overreact and just sighed in relief, something that made Serafall inwardly do the same. It was a good idea to show her a display of her skillsets when she was younger, perhaps the impression was not that strong. However, on the other hand, Nora will-

"What is that wonderful technique!? Teach it to me, Serafall-san, no, sensei!." Nora excitedly spoke.

He had a surprised expression for a moment, then he smiled fondly before shaking his head and then looked everywhere with shining eyes. He suddenly turned to her to teach him!?

Serafall had thought of several reactions from him, but this one was not among them. She always thought she was a tiny bit whacky and might have some unique quirks, but this child is perhaps in another league. Isn't he more amazing than her!?

"Oi! What rude things were you thinking just now? My 'retort gauge' is acting up." Nora exclaimed.

"Nora-san, what kind of gauge is that? Wait! Don't tell me, I feel like the answer will only bring me more headaches." Sona spoke. "Onee-sama has already damaged my common sense, I would like it to rest before another ridiculous situation occurs."

With a sigh, Sona took a look around before directing her gaze to the sky.

Observing them, Serafall giggled. They were rather lively and made her tension dissipate. There was a time she unknowingly scared a friend of her dear sister so much that she never dared to visit Sona again. She would hate to sadden Sona, so Serafall decided to write on Nora's status report that he was very likable. She approves him with all her heart. It was not certain because of the shining eyes he directed at her before, she is only judging based on his 'Sona-contribution gauge'.

While she was pondering over serious details, the temperature lowered somewhat, with one look, Serafall could tell what was happened, it had begun snowing. She could teleport everyone back to their comfortable room, but the adventure would probably end and her sister would make them go back. She had borrowed Nora, but if she took him for too long, Yasaka might not be happy. It was a tiny bit scary to ask her for the boy for a while, and she was not so keen on her kidnap- pouching plan, but making a few compromises that would probably make Grayfia go mad for abusing her authority, the nine-tailed fox agreed. She kind of started to pray for forgiveness to Nora for selling him, but since Serafall did not get a headache, it might be more a simple muttering than actual prayer. Perhaps if she told him how guilty Yasaka was feeling, Nora would be forgiving to her. That way, Yasaka won't mind lending her the Nekomata again. He wouldn't exploit this situation in his favor since he is a nice kid.

"Onee-sama, we should go back. The weather is getting worse, a storm is not a joking matter." Sona seriously said.

Having a look that made Serafall want to just do as her sister asked, Sona had a strict aura.

Once again, Serafall held back her impulse to take a picture of her sister to save in her album. Instead, she looked at Nora and got an idea. For some reason, even though she had a smile on her face as she directed her eyes at him, he started to sweat and backed off slowly.

How rude, she was a lovely lady, why would he be scared?

Wait, she recalled an important detail. It had slipped off of her mind until now since she had so much fun until now. Her charm was not at her peak, she was not wearing her Magical Girl outfit. It was probably the reason why Nora could not understand her brilliant and pure idea. As soon as she changes into her magical dressing, no child will distrust her. Her sensei always said do.

Really, how silly of her. As she understood this point, she pulled out her magic stick and began transforming immediately.

"Ugh! Onee-sama is not going to back down... she never does when she uses that outfit." Sona lamented.

Nora walked behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, he had a compassionate look and he just comforted Sona. From her expression, she seemed to be moved by his gesture, she probably thought that someone understood her hardships. For some reason, Serafall could accurately feel like that was what she was thinking, although she did not understand what kind of hardships were.

"It is ok." Nora muttered in a solemn tone. "Cute is justice."

Giggling, Serafall finished her transformation into her favorite pink outfit. Just in time to see Sona's frozen expression. Her little sister just twisted her body in a movement that made you wonder since when was she able to fight close combat. Why close combat? Easy, she sent several punches at an incredible speed for a magician type, she aimed at several places that would knock down even a grown-up if they hit.

It was impressive how her sister used a technique her sensei taught her, Civilizations End was an ultimate skill that not many were aware of. Her sensei said that it was something that should never be abused.

Equally impressive was how Nora just evaded everything with a wry smile on his face. Just then, in just a split of a second, Serafall almost missed it but he put on a mischievous smile.

Extending his hand, he changed his expression into one of extreme seriousness. Her sister Sona noticed that his aura had changed and stopped. Curious about it, Serafall did not point out that she had finished her transformation and simply remained as a spectator. She had the feeling that something good will happen.

"...Sona. You have nothing to worry about." Nora said in a passionate tone. "Cuteness is indeed justice, and your beautiful sister is on a league of her own."

Nora's words made Serafall a bit shy, he is saying that with a sincere and honest tone, and he is not feeling embarrassed. Even Sona was feeling shy, her cheeks were slightly red. Serafall used the change where she was distracted to take one picture of her, and why not take one of Nora as well? He made her happy with his praise. It would be great if she could try that 'headpat' that her sister was so fond of too.

"However, you forget something of extreme importance." Nora took a step forward.

"...what is it?" Sona avoided looking at him in the eye.

Nevertheless, Nora gently used his hand to lift Sona's chin and make her look at him straight in the eyes.

"You are justice as well." Nora smiled. "Because you are cute."

It was the first time that Serafall saw her sister blushing that much, however, she could understand her feelings a little. If someone that she had positive feelings for did that, she would also act the same way. In fact, if Sona did it to her... she might die.

Such a funny sight, where Sona was left speechless, as she tried to find a word to say but she could only open and close her mouth since no sound came out. Serafall did not miss the change and took pictures until she had to change her camera's SD card.

...

...

...

Since Sona became a mute (she failed to speak for a while and just shyly lowered her head after that), no one was against continuing the adventure. That said, the weather got worse so they had to seek refuge somewhere. Serafall thought about creating a gigantic castle of ice for her sister but Nora stopped her and pointed in the direction of a cave deep in the mountains. It was in a position difficult to find but he still found it somehow. It was not her style to waste other's goodwill so she followed his idea. However, she wondered how did he that place faster than her. It kind of reminded her to-

...

...

...

Her sister was weaker than she thought, to praise that is. She practically passed out when they were getting into cave and she slipped, and somehow Nora caught her just like in those romance dramas. Even for Serafall, that was kind of absurd. Nevertheless, Sona's friend was panicked until they both confirmed that she was ok.

She was about to make the cave more comfortable for their stay, but Nora let her carry Sona for a moment before he started to pull several things from his pouch. He, piece by piece, pulled a large bed, he set it up, added even a mattress and pillows, and took Sona from her hands to lay her on the bed where he gently wrapped her with a sheet that had a design of cats.

The interesting thing was how he moved naturally, it seemed like he was used to taking care of people, and from the look of it, he was very thorough about it. Serafall decided to add the following description to his profile, 'likes to pamper others' and 'if he pampers Sona, then they could be good friends'.

While she got distracted, she failed to notice that Nora had lit up a small bonfire. He had prepared three seats, one for each round it, and he was creating a branch with one hand while he took out a marshmallow with the other one before he stuck the branch on the ground near the fire.

His actions brought a smile to her face, he was an interesting child.

...

...

...

"Don't you think So-tan is cruel~ !? I just wanted to be received with a big hug when I got home, but she refused to leave her room that day... Ahhh~ !" Serafall complained and left her mouth open.

Nora took a marshmallow from a branch and put it in her mouth, he maintained a wry smile as he did that. They had both decided to let her sister rest, and it did not take long for Serafall to start speaking about the sleeping girl.

Biting the marshmallow, Serafall did not take long to swallow and open her mouth again for the next one.

"Serafall-san had her wear a magical girl outfit, so I think she was just shy..." Nora retorted.

"But~ but~ she would've looked so cute if came out skipping to receive me with that outfit~ " Serafall whined. "Mumu~? Why don't you call me as I asked you to~? I don't like to be called so serious like that, it is not cute at all~!"

Why is he so stiff? She has told him to be more at ease with her.

"Haha, well, I can't deny that she would've look lovely, but I think that you asked for something less difficult. It was in the open and all the servants were present, right? Anyone would be- ok, almost anyone would be embarrassed." Nora corrected himself.

Just one glance at her outfit was enough to change his words. However, he might be right.

"As long as should lower the difficulty, she will most likely do what you ask. Of course, that is if you ask nicely and don't be pushy." Nora held his chin for a moment. "Well, as someone who never had a sibling, my advises might not be that good."

Serafall decided to put aside the fact that he ignored her complaints about how he dodged the matter of the way to call her. Instead, she grabbed him and held him in a hug. It had been the first time she had seen him with such a lonesome expression, and she always hated when kids did not have cheerful expressions.

She must not forget that he is currently searching for his missing mother. No matter if he is not living alone or not, his family is missing so he is bound to feel down when they talk about such a topic. Serafall had a wonderful family, loving parents and a loving sister. They were her all, and she found difficult to imagine what she would feel if they were missing. She would feel lonely and lost, perhaps she might even cry often. Just thinking about it, gave her a complicated feeling, but that cannot do, she must act cheerful to reassure him.

Just before she could start patting his back, she felt her back being patted instead.

"...I am in the dreamed position of many and I could include myself there, however, Sera-tan does not need to force herself to do this." Nora muttered as he tried to get away from her. "I could tell that your mood is complicated."

This child probably misunderstood her. She recalled that whenever youkais focuses on reading the auras of others so he probably felt when she got scared and sad thinking about losing her family.

"Jeeez~ You don't need to worry about something like that, Nora-chan should just let himself be doted by me~ " Serafall used a cheerful tone to speak.

She did not need to read his aura to tell that he did not seem convinced.

"Nora-chan, I am not forcing myself. I could tell, my 'Onee-chan's senses' told me that you needed a hug~ " Serafall proudly spoke.

This time, a small chuckle escaped Nora's lips.

"...what's with that? Are you and Kuroka-chan exchanging letters? You say the same funny things." Nora stopped resisting.

Good job Serafall!

After inwardly giving herself a thumbs up for her efforts, Serafall continued to pat him, and she also got her back patted. It was not quite how she imagined but the boy's hand had no guilt. He was a talented patter, perhaps she could learn a thing or two when her sister need a good headpat.

...

...

...

"Are you feeling better~?" Serafall asked.

They continued their actions for a while, and she could tell that he was more relaxed than before so he was no longer thinking about sad things.

"...yeah." Nora spoke. "The power of an Onee-chan is amazing, I am a bit envious of Sona-chan."

Surprised by his words, she had let an opening that he used to leave her embrace. It made her feel slightly disappointed since she had also been touching those fluffy ears of his.

Nevertheless, she pondered a bit at his choice of words, but unfortunately, she could not promise to become his 'Onee-chan' as well. She will always be Sona's sister, her beloved 'Onee-chan', she had made that promise on the day she first saw her dear little sister.

"I cannot become your Onee-chan, but I can become your friend~ So-tan's friends are my friends after all~ " Serafall playfully winked.

Nora was momentarily surprised since he widened his eyes for a second but he latter smiled brightly.

"Being friends with the famous Mao Shoujo, I couldn't ask for anything better." Nora chuckled. "I honestly did not expect this when I first met Serafall-san."

Thinking back, their first meeting was probably not something he might not want to remember.

"I was honestly surprised at that time, I did not expect that- no, don't mind it, I doubt this is something I should be saying." Nora concluded.

If he leaves his words halfway, it makes Serafall even more curious. Does he think that he had a rude thought? She would like to know.

"Why~? Come on, tell me~?" Serafall asked.

She couldn't help but tug his clothes while she spoke. Nora smiled wryly in response but kept his mouth sealed.

What to do? How could she convince him? Was this one of those times that her sensei spoke about? Equal exchange.

"If Nora-chan tells me~ I will give you this~! Teehe " Serafall declared.

In a swift motion, Serafall pulled several pictures from a magic circle. Each hand had over ten pictures, but she tilted her head for a moment. Did she take out the right ones? One look and she confirmed that ones in her left hand were the right ones, but the left ones were some cosplay ones. It was a bit embarrassing to show those, she would usually do that with Grayfia as a hobby, but she does not show it to anyone.

"I-Is that-t Sera-tan in maid outfit!?" Nora widened his eyes in surprise.

How odd, she had pulled Sona's pictures but he got interested first in her cosplaying as a maid. That Grayfia, is adamant about maids too much, why can't she understand the charm of Magical Girls? Even though she made the silver-haired woman wear several outfits throughout the year, she sticks to maid outfits.

"Oh! Sona-chan is wearing a Magical Girl outfit there! I see this can only mean one thing, you want to bribe me, all so I can speak." Nora muttered. "However, I won't fall for your tricks!"

Huh?

"Then, why are you trying to grab them~ ?" Serafall teased.

"These damned hands of mine, they are way too honest for their own good." Nora lamented.

However, his hands never left the pictures.

Find it amusing, Serafall tried to pull the pictures, but his cat ears lowered and he put on a pitiful and sad expression, but when she let him gain an advantage he looked happy. Using her skills trained for countless hours, for Sona to not notice when she used her camera, she took a couple of pictures from different angles while repeating her pulling and releasing actions.

She must add a certain entry to Nora's profile, and that is... he is someone who does not easily give up, no matter what. She repeated her actions over 30 times, yet he still did not give up. He truly has a strong force of will (?).

...

...

...

After a few minutes of fighting, she managed to convince (bribe) him into speaking, and she managed to get some pictures that she could save for later negotiations.

"Magical Girls are fearsome foes..." Nora sighed.

Feeling proud, she stuck out her chest, although Nora avoided looking at her for some reason.

"I sometimes remember that moment, it is not like I have nightmares anymore, but you could call it remanence. Yeah, even though it was hectic back then, there are still bits that make me feel proud and some others that I find difficult to forget because they left me with a big impact." Nora sat and patted beside him for her to sit. "That day, I managed to save those two from that awful place, and I feel proud of my actions, they deserved something better, not to be stuck in that facility."

For a moment, Serafall was a little dazed. The smile he had when he mentioned those two, was one of the brightest smiles she had seen him with, and it was still one based on a hellish day from him. Nora must value the Nekomata sisters a lot, perhaps it could be close to the way she saw her sister.

"Well, I was satisfied with my actions, but there were bound to be consequences. From there on, you should have an idea of what happened so I won't go into details. You could say that it was a bitter struggle, I was reaching my limit, no, I think I reached that for quite some time. My body was tired, I was about to get killed... it was then when..." Nora looked at her. "I saw an angel."

Chuckling, Nora probably found her expression amusing. She had widened her eyes and could not keep her surprise in check.

"At that time, I thought for a moment that I saw an angel, it is a fond memory where your beautiful image appeared in front of me for the first time. It might've been something else, not an angel, but a Maou-shoujo, however, for me, it was just what I needed, a savior." Nora shyly scratched his cheek. "Regardless of what you truly are, an angel, a devil, I am grateful. Thanks to you, this humble cat got out of that one. Hmmm, this is seriously embarrassing, how do main characters do stuff like this so smoothly? They must not have any shame."

It was difficult to describe Serafall current feelings, she felt a bit of pity when she recalled the state he was in at that time, anger towards those hateful people who put him in that position, however, a sense of fulfillment filled her chest, along with a happy and fluffy feeling.

She was very happy that she had been to save this boy, and it was not simply because he was her sister's friend... although she cannot deny that she was moved by that for the most part. She was happy because she had been able to accomplish what her sensei had told her.

-Flashback starts

A young Serafall was had been sitting for hours, she had been hearing about Magical Girls for a long while.

The location was far I'm the unexplored lands, and she had secretly snuck out from home again to meet with her sensei, although she also used the opportunity to meet up with her friend, Grayfia.

Her sensei was most likely a man with a tall figure, and probably a young age. She could not tell for certain because of his strange outfit that included a mask, but he was kind and that was all she cared about.

"Sensei, do Magical Girls beat all the bad guys?" Serafall raised a question.

If she wanted to become on, she just needed to beat the baddies.

"Hmm, you are not wrong. However, it is not a proper answer."

Her sensei answered.

"Magical Girls fight for justice and peace, but beating people is not always the answer. They fight not to beat the bad guys, but rather, they beat the bad guys to save people, and to save people you don't necessarily need to beat the bad guys. Sometimes, just lending a hand to others when they need it is enough."

He used a rather strict and serious tone, so Serafall tried to take his words to heart, however-

"That is difficult, Sensei." Serafall pouted.

"Haha, it might be like that, but don't worry, you will surely get it soon enough. You are an amazing girl after all. Just be yourself, don't try to do anything outside your usual behavior, be cheerful and smile, Magical Girls are lively like that.'

Laughing, he ruffled her hair.

"Hehe~ You are messing my hair, stop~" Serafall complained.

Nevertheless, a smile hung on her face.

"Sorry about that, as an apology, how about I comb your hair? Have you ever used twin tails? I think they would fit you nicely."

Her sensei muttered and took a comb out of nowhere.

Nodding at that, Serafall let herself be combed.

-Flashback ends

Without saying a word, Serafall ruffled Nora's hair like she got hers messed up.

"Thanks~ I am glad I got there in time, but Grayfia-chan also helped me a lot, I couldn't have accomplished it alone~ " Serafall said.

It was no good to hog all of his gratitude, she only played a small part compared to what Grayfia had done.

"I know, I also offered my sincere thanks to her." Nora replied.

He tried to escape at first but gave up when he had no way to do so.

"Also, I think that you can call me an angel or devil if you want to, however, I would be the happiest if you call me a Magical Girl, one who fights for peace and justice~ " Serafall winked playfully.

Shaking his head, Nora smiled wryly. He did not say anything else, but he looked happy.

They remained like that until Sona woke up, just in time for the wheater to clear up.

The biggest failure was that her sister was sulky because they were eating marshmallows without her, but Nora handled that easily after he feed her some, which made her sister embarrassed again, but thankfully, she did not pass out this time.

Part 6

MC's POV

Some interesting things happened in that cave. For instance, I had a chat with Serafall-san during Sona's rest. It was funny to talk to that person, her carefree personality is not all that there is to her and I glanced a bit of that today.

After some walking and passing a long distance, we stumbled upon a castle. No, the correct answer would be that I found it. A barrier seemed to be around it making it impossible to see with the naked eye. Sona-chan was unaware of it, although Serafall-san seemed aware of its existence despite not seeing it.

Reaching that point was less arduous than the rest of our journey so it was a swift process. Along the way, hordes of animals made of not only ice but earth, and fire tried to attack us. A meaningless action, they were dispatched by the Strongest Magical girl in a jiffy. That said, I feel like there is something strange going on here. Those creatures do not seem the type to be wandering around here in the wild. The village does not seem to be prepared to withstand these creatures, and there is no sign of previous attacks anywhere. People live normally without fear.

Does that mean these creatures are targeting us? Is it because we are seeking an adventure by finding the treasure from the story? Well, it is an adventure indeed.

This takes me to the similitudes to the story I heard. It was probably something that happened long ago, if it was real, I wonder if the person from the story is related to... Nah, it couldn't be.

On second thought, so many web novels I have read make me think that such a thing is the obvious option.

...

...

...

It was honestly very scary, hordes of creatures just kept appearing... and got dispatched at an incredible speed. Was this the strength of an Ultimate-class being? I kind of feel like it is beyond that, or maybe I am clueless to the true extent of what they are capable of. It is difficult to guess from the example that visits my home to steal cookies. That kitsune, one of these days I will have to contact Asamiya-san to keep an eye on her, she ate the cat girls' share more than once... and she had no remorse.

With my new equipment, Sona, on my back. I followed after Serafall-san as she opened a way into the castle. As I tried to look for the origin of the creatures, I found them coming from the castle. I even detected someone observing us from a tall tower, it was a young girl who long silvery-white hair and a fringe covering her icy blue eyes. Honestly, she did not seem like one responsible for the creatures but one look at her feet, and from her shadow, those very same creatures emerged.

I continued to observe her, being careful to adjust how much I saw through. I must say that it was by accident, but I happened to see through her clothes and... *Cough* she is quite mature. In order to avoid that, I tried adjusting my sight but I had some troubles. That said, I caught her whispering something.

'Why do I have to do this? I might not be considered a princess anymore but... *Sigh* Being friends with her is always like this.' I was only able to make up those sentences.

Life is so predictable.

Sona-chan '-san' excitement for this 'adventure' is not fake, judging by her heartbeat, she is rather thrilled and excited about what is happening so I decided to let this matter go. Serafall-san is also having fun. There is no need to be boorish and speak my findings. Not to mention, I might spill the stuff about that princess' underwear. Sona-chan's image of me will be shattered. I won't be the same handsome and reliable cat onii-san I surely look like in her eyes.

"...go, Onee-sama." Sona murmured in an almost inaudible tone of voice.

Her words were not heard by Serafall-san who having fun swinging that magical stick left and right in what seems to be a dance or routine.

"Freeze~ Explode~ Hehe " Serafall giggled in a carefree tone of voice.

The contrast between her innocent expression and bright smile was quite strange given that her attack froze an earth bear, that exploded in ice shards after being made an ice sculpture.

If you combine that with the sweet words of Sona-chan who was too shy to cheer for her sister out loud, I am overloaded with cute and fluffy feelings and a bit of fright. At times like this, my dad had a piece of advice.

-Flashback starts

Two figures were staring at the setting sun from the beach, one taller than the other, they were a pair of a father and a son.

"Son, sometimes... You might feel a combination of fluffy feelings along with fright. My advice is to just shrug your shoulders and stop thinking. Just go with the flow." The father advised.

"Dad, you can just take me with you to the beach whenever you get scared to face mom. Not to mention, what is that nonsense? How can someone feel such things at once?" The son inquired.

Awkwardly scratching his head, the taller figure had a troubled smile on his face.

"Haha, well, your mom was angry with me because the young widow next door and her daughter were chatting with me. She thought I was cheating her because it happens often." The father spoke. "Really, she looks so cute when she is jealous, but she surprises me with her force of will, despite her state, my dear wife stood up from bed and chased me around the house with a frying pan."

The son was left speechless and his eyebrows were twitching in annoyance.

"You are the worst... *Sigh* I can understand a bit, in a sense, you felt both. Thank goodness I will never go through the same thing." The son shrugged his shoulders.

"You should show a bit of concern for your father, you know? I evaded her with almost inhuman movements. I would get an Olympic medal just from the jumps I had to do, not to mention the speed I dashed around!" The father complained. "Also, those two were asking me about you! They had no interest in me at all! Damn, a cute teenage girl and a sexy widow! You are way too lucky!"

The son avoided looking at his father in the eyes and just stared at the sunset.

"It is a beautiful sunset huh." He spoke with a faraway look.

The father lost all the energy to complain after looking at his expression. It was going to be his trouble in the future anyways, not his.

-Flashback ends

Yup, just ignore it.

Wise words, dad.

...

...

...

Bursting through the door from the castle, and after crossing several fancy-looking halls, we found the young girl I saw from far away.

She was wearing an expensive-looking dress and had a twitching expression. She kept muttering 'Follow the script, just follow the script. When you need to send her the bill for the damage she caused, double everything. That Mao Shoujo, she destroyed my favorites sculptures.' Her lips were the only thing moving, but I could feel her annoyance.

"Hehe~ We have arrived! Hand over the treasure~ Quickly~ " Serafall-san spoke in an excited tone.

Are we some kind of bandits? Wait, we did burst into private property and destroyed basically everything that impeded our pass.

Officer! Please, let us explain!

"Onee-sama, I think we shouldn't demand anything like that. We just destroyed her property..." Sona-chan rebuked.

The magical girl shrank back a little and threw a glance at the girl who sighed and shook her head.

"You have done well to get to this place, you surely went through a lot of hardships, but if you really want the treasure, you need to be tested, only those with pure hearts and adventuring spirit can go any further." The young girl spoke in a monotonous tone.

She had a beautiful and soft tone of voice, but her flat tone made it difficult to appreciate it.

The young girl rolled her eyes when she got glared at by Serafall-san and sighed again.

"It starts!" The young girl shouted.

After that, from her shadow emerged different kinds of creatures, like the ones from before.

Like that, an epic battle within the people present was unfolded... or not.

...

...

...

They both started battling but they kept it within the two of them. Serafall-san aside, the young girl did not seem to feel like losing so they went overboard, I noticed that their attacks never came at Sona-chan or me so I just moved away with the pink-eyed girl. She, who was beginning to suspect something, took a set near a small tree placed on a pedestal. It was a strange sight to see a bonsai here, given the difficulties to keep one. However, this world makes it possible for people to grow trees in less than a second with magic or Ki so there is not much I can say to common sense-sensei.

Sharing some chocolate bars with Sona-chan, we both observed the bitter fight. Nevertheless, they were getting rowdy and the shockwave of their attacks reached the pedestal, and as one would expect, it began tumbling until it fell.

Thankfully, I caught it before anything happened. Yet, for some reason, the fight stopped and Serafall-san and the young girl were looking pale.

"Let us just stop this, that is his memento. He left it for my mother, if we break it, she will be saddened. You also don't want that, right?" The young girl spoke.

Serafall-san nodded in response but began sweating when she saw Sona-chan.

"...Onee-sama, I had my suspicions but..." Sona-chan raised her voice.

A strict Sona-chan is cute, and even more when she is not being strict towards you.

"Ehhhh~ It is not what you think, this is..." Serafall-san looked left and right for help.

Unfortunately, she was left to fend for herself. The young girl had walked over me and extended her hands towards me.

I simply handed the bonsai, and she smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, for protecting this." She said.

Hugging the tree, she looked at it lovingly.

I sensed an immense amount of Otome power, but it was cut off when she looked at me again. With furrowed eyebrows, she stared straight into my eyes.

"How odd, that look seems familiar somehow... Hmmm." The girl tilted her head.

While she kept her eyes on me, Sona-chan had made Serafall-san kneel in front of her again with a sign that said 'I am reflecting on my actions'.

That might take a while.

"Oh, cat ears... a Nekomata." The girl exclaimed softly.

Extending one hand, she caressed my ears without waiting for my permission.

I am being caressed by an older girl, and she did not get my permission to do so. This is sexual harassment, right? Can I fill a demand?

...

...

...

"My name is Anastasia, pleased to make your acquaintance." The young girl, Anastasia, bowed.

We all introduced ourselves.

To finish this business once and for all, I pleaded in Serafall-san's favor and she was released. Thanks to it, we could proceed with introductions and an explanation about what happened.

In short, it is easy to explain. Serafall-san saw that Sona-chan was feeling down because I went to Rias-chan's place, although the girl in question vehemently denied such a thing. In order to cheer her up, I was kidnap- pouched by the older sister who set up this charade.

That is nice and all but-

"Why do I have to go through this?" I muttered.

It was a little late but I was convinced by that lady to transform into a cat and she is carrying me while she played with tails and ears.

"Just a bit, can you let me do this just for a bit?" Anastasia-san pleaded.

Putting aside Sona-chan's envious look, I feel like pounding some common sense on Serafall-san who gave me a thumbs up while muttering things like 'she likes cute things so put her in a good mood so I don't have to pay the damages'.

"Ahem, now that everything has been cleared, and we learned that the story of the treasure was made up, we can leave, right?" Sona-chan said.

Her eyes were glued at the young girl and me. Cut me some slack, I am being coerced into this.

"The treasure exists, you know?" Anastasia suddenly spoke.

What?

"Eh?" Sona-chan cutely tilted her head.

"Ehhhh~?" Serafall-san followed her sister's example.

Why are you being surprised? You did not ask before?

"Follow me, I will show you." Anastasia said.

...

...

...

"It has many downsides to it, so people in particular magicians lost interest in it." Anastasia-san explained.

She led us to a large underground space below her castle and there we could finally see the treasure.

It was a humongous crystal that shone in blue light, I can't make a proper calculation yet but the size easily surpasses the tallest tower in Kyoto.

Yikes, what a uselessly big treasure.

"Before you ask, let me explain. The biggest downside is that its weight increases whenever you pour any kind of energy into it. Although it is indeed a wonderful catalyst for spells. Thanks to it, that man and I could wipe out my pursuers." Anastasia-san muttered.

I could not see her face, but she spoke in a happy tone such a scary thing, I got a chill when she said that.

"Amazing..." Sona-chan said.

The girl probably did not hear what Anastasia-san said since she had her eyes stolen by the crystal.

However, Serafall-san looked sad. That story we heard, probably happened. That means this girl had her family practically wiped out.

"Uh? What is it? You are suddenly being affectionate. Fufu, ok, let me respond to that by petting you more." Anastasia-san giggled.

I began to proactively rub my head on the palm of her hand so she responded by caressing my fur more.

There is not much I can say to her, and turning into my human form would be the same thing. However, as a simple cat, I can offer her some comfort.

Are-eh? I feel like I am drifting further than my human self.

Meh, I became a cat anyway so that was a given.

Serafall's POV

Her sister learned about her plan and that made her be reproached, but Serafall was happy. Despite getting an earful, she couldn't help but smile since Sona was in a good mood. She was jealous of her friend, and now she got an opportunity to go on a journey with him.

It was a success so Serafall did not mind the punishment, not to mention that an angry Sona was a cute Sona as well.

Before going back, Serafall proposed an idea, which was simply to take a picture of the three of them smiling.

Sighing, Sona after mumbling something about spoiling her too much, however, she still agreed at the end.

For some reason, Nora frowned when she asked her friend to take the pictures, but he still did as she asked and took pictures doing poses.

...

...

...

It was a few pictures later when Nora kept pondering for a moment before he stopped doing poses.

"No good." Nora shook his head.

He looked troubled for a moment before he stood in front of her and stared directly into her eyes.

"Can you let that lady into the pictures as well? I know that you want to have some memories of your sister about this journey and all, but I think she should also appear." Nora pointed at her friend.

Anastasia just tilted her head and pointed at her face with a questioning look. Serafall found his words interesting.

"Why~?" Serafall inquired with a smile on her face.

She wondered if she seemed rude to him because he smiled wryly.

"She is part of this journey, and she is also our friend." Nora said. "It is not good to leave her out."

Giggling, Serafall found it hard to hold her laugher. What an interesting child, was he bothered about it?

She felt slightly playful so she kept silent to see his reaction.

"I know that is not good for me to intrude, but could you please consider my words?" Nora lowered his head.

It sent her into a bit of a panic, Serafall did not expect him to act like that, her sister looked angry as well so things might go out of hand. However, why was she taking his side? She was her sister, not him.

"Ok, just raise your head, please~" Serafall tried to raise his head but he remained in place.

Looking around, her sister had a face that said 'if you don't fix this, I will be angrier', not good. Her friend looked amused and was giggling.

"Ah~ Jeez~ I said that it was ok, I will have her join in, there, I said it, happy?" Serafall gave up.

He was quite the troublesome child, he almost made her suffer Sona's wrath. However, he had a good heart. Yes, just like her sensei.

...

...

...

"Hehe, he surprised me, to think he would invite me to join as well." Anastasia laughed.

The two friends had moved to another place and were happily chatting. They had left Sona and Nora to play chess in another room.

"Jeez~ don't laugh, it was your fault~" Serafall pouted.

"No, you can't blame for that." Anastasia shook her head with a grin on her face. "That said, your sister made a wonderful friend. He is very thoughtful, even though I met him today, he was mindful of me. He treats others nicely."

"Hehem~ " Serafall puffed out her chest proudly.

As expected of Sona, she has a fine judgment.

"It is your sister who made a friend that good, not you." Anastasia retorted.

"Hehehe~ You don't know, but he and I are friends as well~ " Serafall merrily replied. "Well, you are also his friend now, or would you act towards him as you act to outsiders?"

Poking at her friend's cheek with her finger, Serafall teased her.

"Hum, I would not be so rude to turn down that kindness. Different from people who usually approach this place, he is a good child. He even protected my mother's gift from him." Anastasia poked at her friend's cheek.

Going at each other's... cheeks, they were competing (?).

"Were there some annoying guys coming here again? Are they after...?" Serafall spoke.

Using a serious tone, she stopped her actions.

"I sent mother away for a bit to keep her out of danger. However, it was not as you think. The people annoying me are not after 'that', they were like you, fools looking for that precious crystal." Anastasia shrugged her shoulders.

"How rude~ Calling your friend like that~ " Serafall complained.

"Anyways, you guys should leave soon and do not come back for a while, it would be troublesome if you get mixed up." Anastasia warned. "Take care of your sister, she is a kind girl... and that boy, take care of him too, he reminded me of... him, it would be a shame if he went through anything bad and grew up twisted."

Finishing her words, Anastasia pushed her out of the room they were in.

Just when Serafall had walked a distance away-

"Ah, I almost forgot! Serafall! You have to pay for the things you destroyed!" Anastasia called out.

Using a technique she learned from her sensei, she moved at an incredible speed and left Anastasia behind.

She tried to kick her out so Serafall won't be kind and pay her anything.

"Hehe~ Today was a good day~ " Serafall giggled.

With a laugh, she went to pick up her sister and her new friend. It was time to go home.