50 The Other Side of the Coin

Nova was in his room circulating his mana while holding onto a few multicolored pea sized crystals.

「...What happened?」[Nova]

He thought back on what happened at the mall.

『Oswald is a sorry excuse of an older brother. Because he didn't want the responsibility of leading the house, he left it to me.』[Anastasia]

Nova seemed as if he was physically attacked.

『...That's! That's not true! He's only ever shown me kindness!』[Nova]

She stared deep into his eyes- No, through him, before saying what would shake Nova.

『...Then, aren't you lucky?』[Anastasia]

She stormed past him and went back toward the direction of the school.

He turned around and tried to stop her, but before he could say anything, she glared back at him.

『...Chronostasia.』[Anastasia]

She disappeared from sight and he was left alone.

Katherin sent him a text saying that she was going back to the dorm, and would go again next time.

『...』[Nova]

Before he knew it, he had returned back to his room.

「...Reischneid?」[Nova]

Reischneid yawned, before responding to Nova.

「Yeah? Did something happen?」[Reischneid]

Nova considered for a moment whether to ask Reischneid about the issue, before coming to terms that he wouldn't get anything useful from it.

「...What can I do with these magic crystals?」[Nova]

There was a short silence before he heard a response.

「...Magic crystals?」[Reischneid]

「Yeah.」[Nova]

「Can you say my name really quickly?」[Reischneid]

『Reischneid.』[Nova]

A blue flame surged into existence before the human version of Reischneid appeared.

『Woah, you can do this now?!』[Nova]

『Yeah. I've been accumulating quite a bit of mana. It should be fine if I drain a little of your mana to maintain this form.』[Reischneid]

He picked up the little pea sized crystals, before examining the rest of them.

『...Nice. You've got mana heart, so do you mind if I take these?』[Reischneid]

Nova slowly pushed the pile toward him.

『Go ahead, but what for?』[Nova]

『I can use these to unlock the seal faster. If you get a bunch more of these I can spend more time awake instead of sleeping while gathering mana.』[Reischneid]

Reischneid made a fist, then opened it as if he was struggling.

In the space above his fist was a multicolored hole that expanded.

『What's that?』[Nova]

He began to shovel the crystals into the space.

『Oh, this?』[Reischneid]

He grabbed the sides of the hole and moved it lower for Nova to observe the shifting colors.

『This is a storage space. It's one of my seed abilities.』[Reischneid]

『...Your seed ability? You can still use those?』[Nova]

Reischneid shrugged.

『Yeah, why not? If I can use flight spells, why not seed spells?』[Reischneid]

『...Aren't you keeping too many secrets from me?』[Nova]

Reischneid stayed silent for a moment before denying Nova.

『...Nah! Don't worry about it.』[Reischneid]

He threw the rest of the crystals in.

『If you have more, we can increase the infusion rate. I didn't expect you to get access to these things so soon! If you get me like a thousand more of those big crystals, I can stay awake while gathering mana for the seal!』[Reischneid]

Shortly after saying that, he disappeared into thin air.

『...Okay.』[Nova]

Nova was suddenly left with nothing to do.

He sat there motionless for a good portion of time before going to his ID and searching through the contacts tab.

「...I need to have a talk with Oswald.」[Nova]

…..

Nova sat in a meticulously organized room.

『Could I interest you in anything to drink?』[Oswald]

He pulled out a platter of various teas.

『Uh… no thanks. I just wanted to ask about something personal, if that's okay.』[Nova]

Oswald put the platter away and sat down on the chair in front of Nova.

『Alright. Go ahead and ask. 』[Oswald]

Nova seemed to struggle to find the words to ask for a bit.

『...Do.. Do you and your sister get along well?』[Nova]

Oswald had a sad look on his face.

『No. As you should know, the firstborn son typically takes over the house. However, in my case, I didn't have proper capabilities.』[Oswald]

『...Proper capabilities?』[Nova]

『As a young child, people of the Soryl house undergo physical training, diplomatic training, and mannerism training.』[Oswald]

Nova nodded his head and continued listening.

『Well, I couldn't perform as they expected for any of the trainings. Anastasia on the other hand, performed much better. She was what my father called a "thousand year prodigy".』[Oswald]

『So… you were replaced as the head because of your sister?』[Nova]

『Yes and no. She was forced to take over because she was a better image for house Soryl. However, in her eyes I probably abandoned her...』[Oswald]

『So.. Is it your dad's fault?』[Nova]

Oswald leaned back and shook his head.

『Nope. In a way, it was a blessing for me. I never wanted to lead anyway. It was always my dream to advance magical theory.』[Oswald]

『Then…?』[Nova]

Oswald fidgeted with his hands, struggling to say anything for a moment.

『...Yes. In a way, I did leave her to become the heiress.』[Oswald]

Nova sat back in his seat for a moment.

『...Are you friends with her?』[Oswald]

Nova nodded his head, causing Oswald to have a soft smile.

『That's good. I've always felt bad for forcing her to take my place. I'm sure she would've liked to grow up as a normal girl.』[Oswald]

『...I'm sure.』[Nova]

Oswald seemed to have calmed down a bit.

『Is she still as quiet as always?』[Oswald]

Nova nodded.

『She rarely talks, but she is starting to talk more.』[Nova]

『...Well. She always was shy as a child. She had hidden behind me whenever we had a guest. But, she always made a cold front whenever she had dealt with anything related to the house. Maybe that's what I should have done. 』[Oswald]

He looked down as if reminiscing about the past.

『Don't say that, Oswald. Everyone is suited to something else. If your father chose it, then there isn't much you can do.』[Nova]

Oswald looked up at Nova.

『...Nova. I'm going to leave this to you, but.. I need you to look after her. Treat her as if she was a normal person. I'm sure a lot of the people in your year see her as "heiress to house Soryl", but I need you to see her as "Anastasia".』[Oswald]

Nova looked at Oswald in the eyes.

『...I will. But... she sees you as someone that has abandoned her! Wouldn't you like to clear that up at least?』[Nova]

『...Well, maybe I did abandon her. At the very least, I wasn't there for her.』[Oswald]

『But… you're looking out for her, even now! I feel like you should at least...』[Nova]

Nova's sentence was cut off by Oswald.

『Nova.』[Oswald]

Nova looked up and saw Oswald smiling while looking down at the floor.

『I… want you to take care of her. She's lived her entire life as a tool to the Soryl house. I talked to my father and it seems that he had her observe you during our summer training. So...』[Oswald]

He looked up at Nova.

『...Don't blame her. And… I want you to.. Triumph over her.』[Oswald]