Chapter 21: A Sister's Resolve

"Thank you.." Lisa whispered under her breath, her eyes still dark with pain and guilt.

"It's okay; I forgive you. Just stay by my side, okay?" Liora asked, a small smile etched on her face.

Lisa nodded, a determined expression appearing on her face. "I promise, I'll be here to support you in any way I can; I won't let them treat you like this for as long as I'm here," Lisa said, her voice emanating a strong confidence.

Liora smiled, a bit relieved and happy to have her sister's support. Lisa then stood up from her bed, and stretched the hem of her military uniform "I should leave you to rest," Lisa said as she looked at Liora "I'm going to return to my quarters, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

With that, Lisa began to leave, walking towards Liora's door. She grabbed onto the handle and was about to push the door open, but stopped when she felt Liora's hand grabbing her own, tucking it a bit.

"Liora?" Lisa asked a bit surprised, looking back at Liora, who was now standing behind her.

"Lisa, I need your help with something important," Liora said, looking into Lisa's emerald eyes.

Lisa blinked for a moment, pondering what Liora could need from her, especially if it was important. Regardless, Lisa crouched down and placed a hand on Liora's head, patting it gently. "What do you need my help with, younger sister?" Lisa asked.

Liora became a bit annoyed by her patting her head like that. She was the same age as Lisa in her previous life, but she couldn't do anything about it since she was only a child of 10 in this world.

"I want you to help me escape the mansion for tonight. There's something really important I have to do." Liora stated.

Though she knew that this could have severe consequences, Liora wanted to leave the mansion grounds and head to a nearby hunting field filled with monsters. She was still very weak and desperately needed to level up to become stronger.

"What!?" Lisa gasped a bit surprised, her eyes widening in shock at the request, "No! I can't have you leave; who knows what would happen if Father finds out about this!?" Lisa's heart was trembling from fear and concern; she couldn't let anything happen to her sister again; she made a promise and she would keep it.

Liora, noticing the panic in her sister's voice, gently cupped her cheek with her small hands. A comforting warmth was channelling through them, despite the cold of the night.

"It will be okay; I won't be long, maybe just an hour or two. This is very important to me; please understand." Liora said in a warm tone, trying her best to comfort her sister's worries.

Lisa furrowed her brows a little; she was torn between letting her sister go this once or keeping her safe from future problems—even if it would cost her happiness. She took a deep breath to steel her nerves before talking in a serious voice:

"Alright, I'll let you go. But on one condition, you're going to have to tell me why this is so important. Only then will I help you exit the mansion."

Liora blinked in surprise; she didn't expect Lisa to demand this. Liora looked at the floor for a moment, contemplating whether she should reveal everything to her sister. If she told her that she has two talents—especially ones that would allow her to grow strong really fast—would she even believe her?

After a few moments of thinking, Liora finally made her decision; she was going to tell Lisa about her system, talents, everything. Liora took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself.

"Lisa, would you believe me if I said that I possessed two talents? Both ranked higher than any human being could ever hope to achieve. I also have the ability to grow infinitely stronger, which requires me to kill monsters. And to do that, I need to leave the mansion grounds," Liora explained.

Lisa stared at Liora with wide eyes and a mouth agape; she couldn't believe what Liora was saying. Two Talents? Higher than any human could ever possess? Ability to grow infinitely stronger? What nonsense!

Lisa gently placed a hand on Liora's head, her expression full of concern. "Liora, are you okay? Did you hit your head hard on the dirt road? You might be in need of a healer; your mental condition isn't looking too good." Lisa said, her voice full of concern.

Liora sighed; she figured that Lisa wouldn't believe her. 'Why did I even try? Of course, they wouldn't believe me; now I just look crazy.' Liora thought, a bit frustrated.

"Forget it; I knew you wouldn't believe me. I thought you'd be willing to help and support me in my hour of need, but I guess I was wrong," Liora said with another sigh, her shoulders slumping down with the burden of her defeat.

Lisa's heart clenched as she heard Liora's words, "W-wait!" She desperately called for Liora, whose back was facing her and was walking towards her bed. She fought desperately with her thoughts; her heart was telling her to let her go, but her mind was telling her to keep her safe.

She felt like she was losing her mind; both options had their ups and downs, but she couldn't disappoint her sister, not after they had just forgiven each other. "Fine, I'll help you escape, but only this once, okay?" Lisa said reluctantly, her voice heavy with defeat.

Liora's ears perked up as she heard that. She stood in place and slowly turned around with a small grin, "Thank you, Lisa." Liora said as she walked back toward Lisa.

"Don't make me regret this; my life is on the line here." Lisa sighed as she stood up and straightened her posture. She looked at Liora for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "You're not planning on leaving like that, do you? You'll be instantly recognised; we need something to conceal your identity."

Lisa walked towards the door and pulled it open. "Wait here; I'll be right back," Lisa said as she softly closed the door behind her, leaving Liora a bit confused.

After a few minutes, Lisa walked back into Liora's room with a small dark robe—a suitable size for Liora to wear—and a small pouch of gold coins. "Here," Lisa said as she tossed the dark robe towards Liora, who caught it quickly and examined it a bit, her small fingers tracing lines over the smooth black fabric.

"You'll need to put that on; you can't risk people finding out your identity. The pouch of gold coins is what you'll need to pay the guards at the gates for you to leave; they don't allow people to enter and exit the city at late hours, so you must pay a fee."

She explained as she tossed Liora the pouch of gold coins. Liora understood and began to dress up in the small dark robe. She put the small pouch of gold in her pockets and nimbly ran to the corner of her room, where her practice sword was. She grabbed it and placed it in her sheet, which was now tied around her waist.

Liora glanced at herself once more, making sure everything was in place, and turned to face Lisa, who had a satisfied smile on her face. "Good!" She said with a pleased nod, "You're ready now. Let's get you out of here."

Lisa then walked over towards Liora's window and opened it. She gazed below into the courtyard, which was now packed with guards patrolling the area. Ever since Liora had escaped, the security had been tightened to ensure that it never happened again.

"Hehe, let's begin~" Lisa muttered under her breath, spreading open her palm as small water particles began to form and spin at a crazy rate, intensifying and forming a water sphere that glowed with a soft blue hue.