When noon rolled around, we headed down to the first floor to have lunch in the dining hall. I’d brought my own bento, so I just ate that.
We spent the afternoon hanging out and chatting in the second-floor lounge, and I finally headed home around three o'clock.
"It really is still only twelve noon..."
I glanced at the wall clock in my room; both the hour and minute hands were pointing straight up.
"I wonder if my stomach will hold out until dinner?"
I stepped out of my room and walked over to the door next to mine. I gave it a firm knock.
"Whaaat?" my sister’s voice called out from inside.
"Toko, you got a second?"
"Mmhmm."
It was a lazy reply, but I had permission. I opened the door and stepped inside to find her room just as cluttered with stuffed animals as ever. Toko was sprawled out on her bed in the corner, flipping through a magazine.
"You already changed?"
"I’ve been home for ages. You’re just slow, Big Brother."
I’d certainly spent a long time shooting the breeze with Frank and Cedric, but still...
"Hey, do you even have any friends?"
"Hmm? I do. I go out with them on the weekends and everything."
"No, I mean friends at the academy. I didn't see you talking to anyone, and you were sitting way up in the front."
She’d been right under the teacher's nose. What’s more, there hadn't been a soul sitting next to her.
"Ah... no, I have people to talk to. Like Ilmera, Noelle, and Yuika—the ones you were talking to today. We're in the same class and around the same age, after all."
"You weren't talking to them today, though."
"I talk to them normally at the dorm. I just try not to speak too much in public."
"Why?"
Toko was a chatterbox by nature.
"Because I’m representing the La Forge name. If I start talking, everyone will realize I have no refinement. My facade will crumble."
She certainly lacked any sense of grace... Even now, she was lounging in a slovenly heap while reading her magazine; I could even see her underwear.
"Hmm, 'the grace of a prestigious family,' huh?"
"Exactly. As if I’d actually have something like that. I’m just the idiot sister who farts during meals, remember?"
And you're the idiot who always gets chewed out by Mom for leaving the bathroom light on.
"Well, as long as you aren't being bullied, I’m glad."
"Like that would ever happen."
"I just heard you were a 'bundle of pride' and all that."
"Pride? Pfft."
Toko turned toward me and scoffed, propping herself up on one elbow. Yeah, she didn't seem to have a shred of it.
"Hey, are you actually good at Ice Magic?"
The moment I asked, Toko’s expression stiffened.
"...Why?"
"Because your Ice Magic in class today was incredible."
"Well... if I had to say, I'm better at that than most things."
I see, I see.
"Should I come up with a nickname for you?"
"You found out?! You’ve learned something you were never supposed to know!"
Toko hurled a pillow at me, which I caught with ease.
"What’s wrong? You’re losing your poise, Ice Princess... Pfft, hahahaha!"
"Don't laugh!"
"It’s so lame."
"I know! Even I thought, 'Man, there's someone out there with a really lame nickname.' I never imagined it was me..."
This was gold.
"Hey, can you use Space Magic?"
"I can. Here, take this. Give it to Mom."
Toko pulled a bento box out of thin air and handed it to me. I took it and tossed the pillow back to her.
"Do you have all the spell formulas in the textbook memorized?"
"I worked my butt off to memorize them. I only decided to become a mage in the summer of my second year of middle school, so I got a late start."
Is that so...
"Any tips?"
"Review before you go to bed and as soon as you wake up in the morning."
Ah, right...
"It’s going to be a struggle from here on."
"Isn't a normal high school just as bad? We don't have university entrance exams, so I think we have it easy..."
University exams, huh... Those definitely sounded more painful.
"Guess I’ll give it my best shot..."
"You do that. Ah, pass me those potato chips."
I grabbed the bag of chips from her desk and dropped them right onto Toko’s face as she lay there.
"Thanks. Good luck."
Toko caught the chips and started snacking while going back to her magazine. I turned to head out.
"Hey! Close the door!"
She was being noisy, so I doubled back to shut the door before heading down to the living room. Mom was there, sipping tea and watching a daytime variety show.
"I'm back. Here are the bento boxes."
"Welcome home. Oh? Toko's too?"
"I was just talking to her. Hey, Mom, the dorm has a school cafeteria, you know. Plus, it's free."
Frank and Cedric had been eating there like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Both you and Toko are such picky eaters that you'd end up with a nutritional deficiency."
Well...
"I can't really argue with that."
"I've been your mother for sixteen years. If I say so, it's a fact."
"I guess. Whatever. I'm going for a run, so have something ready for me to snack on when I get back. I won't last until dinner."
"Just go eat some cup ramen or something on your own."
What happened to the nutrition?
Well, whatever. I wasn't that worried about it. I left my mother glued to the TV, placed the two bento boxes on the table, and went back to my room.
After changing into my workout gear, I headed out for my daily run. Running was a hobby I kept up almost every day, but this was the best I'd felt in three months. I suppose sneaking around to run in the middle of the night until now had taken its toll.
I ran my usual course, reached the park, and then looped back. After eating some cup ramen in the living room while watching TV with Mom, I returned to my room to study the textbook and memorize spell formulas.
"Yeah... I'll just take it one step at a time... Dad told me not to overdo it, anyway."
I closed the book and flopped onto my bed. Eventually, evening arrived. When it was time for dinner, I went down to the living room, and the four of us ate together.
"Tsukasa, how was your first day?" Dad asked.
"The Ice Princess made the teacher cry."
"Don't call me that! You were right there breaking the automata with me, Big Brother!" Toko huffed in annoyance.
"Do you think you'll be okay with the schoolwork?"
"...I'll try my best. Frank and Cedric helped me out today."
"I see... Don't push yourself too hard."
What was I going to do? It wasn't so much that I didn't want to push myself, but more that I didn't think I even could—yet I didn't want to end up losing my arm, either.
Well, things had only just begun.