The morning event had ended, leaving the instructors with precious free time.
Three figures approached from the distance.
A reunion after three long years. Recognition came easily despite the passage of time.
Lucia, Lucas, and her beloved…
“Lowell! My dear little sister!”
Lucia sprinted forward and enveloped her in an embrace with the same overwhelming enthusiasm as always.
Lowell braced herself with every ounce of strength she possessed. Without that effort, they both would have tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
Soft warmth pressed against her face and body, seeping through her very core.
For someone who needed to become stronger, such warmth was nothing short of an enemy.
Lowell pressed her palm firmly against Lucia’s face and pushed her away.
“Don’t be shy. Ehehe, you’ve grown so much since I last saw you? You’re a real adult now.”
Is she mocking me? And why has she become so… soft?
Her body, her entire mindset—everything about her was completely different from Lowell herself.
Jealousy? Resentment? Perhaps both emotions churned together, forcing harsh words she didn’t truly mean to spill from her lips.
“I haven’t grown at all. Haven’t you put on too much weight, sister?”
“N-no! It’s just muscle!”
“I see. Soft muscle… quite the research topic. I should submit a report to the society. What’s your current weight?”
“Thirty-nine kilograms! I’m always thirty-nine kilograms!”
“Just your chest weighs thirty-nine kilograms… definitely worth studying.”
“That’s impossible! What am I, some kind of chest monster!?”
Lucia bounced closer, practically vibrating with indignation.
So this is how I meet my end—crushed by a chest monster.
Just as Lowell was resigning herself to her fate, someone shoved her away from the impending doom.
Lucas, the second child of the Lucid family, had intervened.
“Brother, it’s been a while.”
“Tsk.”
Lucas clicked his tongue softly and extended something toward her.
A single flower. The amusing part was that there was only one.
“Congratulations.”
“Was today supposed to be a day worth congratulating me?”
“One year of radio silence, two years as an instructor, and three years without showing your face at home. Plenty of achievements worth celebrating, wouldn’t you say?”
A triple crown of neglect.
His sharp wit remained unchanged. That perfect logic wrapped in barbed comments was exactly the same.
Who in this world could possibly win a battle of words against this man?
“Isn’t the gift rather modest for such impressive records?”
“I couldn’t help it. Someone threw a fit, claiming they’d prepared the exact same gift as me…”
Lucas released a deep sigh before continuing.
“Isn’t it problematic that things were arranged so overlap was inevitable from the start? I’m surrounded by people who don’t understand basic courtesy… Come home once in a while. I feel like I can actually breathe only when you’re there to handle one of them.”
His words had devolved from logic into something closer to outright complaining.
Honestly, she couldn’t grasp half of what he was saying.
Sister Lucia was one thing, but she had to take care of one of them?
Was there really someone as difficult to communicate with as her sister? It couldn’t be Duke Luke, so that meant…
“Come out now. If you don’t plan to strangle me, stop pulling on my cloak.”
Looking more closely, Lucas’s cloak was stretched taut, pulled tight enough to choke him.
A moment later, the fabric loosened, and someone hesitantly emerged from behind it.
Rodelin.
The one she missed every single day, the one she wanted to embrace, the one she loved most dearly.
‘My little sister.’
Was she nervous? Her entire body was rigid, like a person constructed from geometric blocks.
“What’s wrong with her? What happened to all that singing about how much she missed you every day?”
“W-when did I do that! And it’s only natural to miss one’s family!”
“How dare you talk back to your sister!?”
Lucia poked Rodelin’s head.
Rodelin didn’t flinch. Instead, she raised her voice and shouted back.
“Maintain your dignity as a soldier!”
“I’m a retired soldier, you know? And soldiers roughhouse like this too! Take another hit!”
“E-eek!”
The impromptu comedy routine between Lucia and Rodelin began in earnest.
Lucas smoothly distanced himself from the chaos. The naturalness of his movement suggested this had become the daily reality of the Lucid family household.
“Do you see now? Please, save me.”
Whether Lucas was truly suffering or not, Lowell’s gaze had been fixed on one particular spot for some time.
Rodelin, her beloved little sister.
‘She’s grown so much.’
The girl stood at least a hand’s width taller than herself now. When had she become so big? It seemed impossible that Lowell could even carry her on her back anymore.
“Hmm…”
Not only that, but her body had developed in various other ways as well.
It appeared the same blood that flowed through Sister Lucia ran through Rodelin’s veins too. The same blood should flow through her own body, yet she couldn’t understand why there was such a dramatic difference…
‘Well, she’s still adorable.’
At this level, wasn’t she the most beautiful girl in the province… no, the most beautiful on the entire continent?
Had their scuffle finally ended? Rodelin, having successfully defeated Lucia in their mock battle, approached and offered a bouquet of flowers.
“C-congratulations.”
“Congratulations for what?”
“You’re bringing honor to our family as an excellent instructor. You deserve recognition.”
A perfectly sound argument. She couldn’t understand why the child had become so formal and stiff.
Lowell was still pondering this change when…
“A-and also…”
Rodelin reached into her pocket dimension and began producing gifts, stacking them methodically.
Nutritional supplements, an expensive tea set, various snacks, clothing, local specialties from across the empire, official empire merchandise (?), and countless other items.
The growing pile of gifts soon towered above Lowell’s head.
“I can’t see your face with all this in the way.”
“I-I see. I will correct this immediately!”
Rodelin began rearranging the boxes with the precise posture of a disciplined soldier.
That stiff tone, that rigid bearing—she was the very picture of military formality.
Lowell glanced toward Lucia and Lucas.
Both of them shook their heads in response. It meant they had also given up trying to change this behavior.
Lowell found herself frowning without realizing it.
‘So it’s come to this after all…’
The reason Lowell had distanced herself from Rodelin.
It was partly because such closeness interfered with hardening her heart, but Rodelin’s decision to pursue the soldier’s path had been a major factor.
Upon learning she was both the secret and the hope of the Lucid family, Rodelin hadn’t hesitated for even a moment before choosing the military route.
The person Rodelin loved wasn’t just Lowell herself.
It was the entire family.
‘I thought she would give up quickly if I showed my disapproval…’
Rodelin was too good a child.
She had chosen the soldier’s path to save their family. At such a tender age.
And that resolve had persisted to this very day.
‘She was a child capable of anything—I wanted to let her pursue anything she desired.’
Lowell bit her lip.
To place such an impossible burden as Legion Commander on such a good child…
There was no way to view it in a positive light.
“Ah! Come to think of it… I left the empire’s anniversary pajamas behind! I think I left them in the carriage. I’ll be right back!”
I don’t need things like that. I just need you.
But before she could voice such thoughts, Rodelin was already running away.
The girl disappeared in a cloud of dust.
Lowell turned her head in disappointment.
“Where’s Father?”
“You know how he is. Always busy.”
“Sister and Brother are busy too. Well, it doesn’t matter. I suppose he’s decided I’m not worth visiting.”
Lowell let out a bitter laugh.
The major incident of not only running across the table that had been passed down for hundreds of years, but also throwing a punch at Duke Luke himself.
Since that day, the two hadn’t spoken a single word to each other.
“Isn’t it because you keep ignoring Father’s words?”
“How can I get along with someone who pushes responsibility onto his own child?”
“Father had his reasons for acting that way. In fact, there haven’t been any particular problems up until now, have there?”
She had learned several things during this time.
First, the demons of the 2nd Legion were avoiding contact with the Lucid family as much as possible.
Second, even when they did meet, most chose to flee immediately. The restriction preventing them from attacking had become essentially meaningless.
Beyond those facts, she had discovered several other pieces of information, but she still couldn’t solve the biggest mystery.
‘The 2nd Legion Commander, Astaroth… I still don’t understand his true intentions.’
The shackles placed upon the Lucid family. Initially, she had assumed it was merely the Legion Commander’s twisted amusement, but that wasn’t the case.
There was some specific goal, and he was forcefully directing his subordinate demons toward achieving it.
In fact, there had even been an incident where a demon from the 2nd Legion who was tormenting Lucia like a plaything was killed by another demon from the same legion.
“This is going to become a serious problem.”
“What am I supposed to do about something that’s already happened? Since it’s done, the right approach is to prepare our response. Simply blaming past mistakes is foolish.”
“What did you just say?”
“If you’re so brilliant, then suggest a solution. I’ll gladly join the chorus of criticism after that.”
Crackle!
Sparks flew between Lowell and Lucas.
Just before actual flames could ignite, Lucia clapped her hands and intervened.
“Now, now, that’s enough of the unpleasant talk. Let’s focus on what’s right in front of us for now.”
“Hmph!”
“Ha!”
They turned their backs on each other without another word. Lucia scratched her cheek and asked.
“How do you feel seeing Delin after such a long time?”
“She’s cute. Still.”
“It’s not easy to talk when you haven’t seen each other in a while, right?”
“Did we even have time for a proper conversation just now?”
“Did we? Hmm… do you happen to have any official empire merchandise from the academy?”
“I have some.”
More than just some—the items were practically littering her floors.
Merchandise crammed full of phrases praising the empire that made you wonder if anyone would actually purchase such things.
“Gather all of it up and give it to her. She’s been collecting those items for several years now. She’ll be absolutely thrilled.”
Lowell’s ears perked up.
A moment later, Lowell left the area as if she had no other choice.
“It’s annoying, but I suppose I have to.”
Her steps were lighter than they had been in ages.
“Is this enough? It’s not much.”
Classroom, dormitory, training ground, and warehouse.
She had swept up every piece of merchandise she could find.
The pile was so enormous that the light indicating her pocket dimension’s capacity limit was blinking frantically.
‘Will she like it?’
Perhaps Rodelin would cling to her back, exclaiming, “Sister is the best!” or maybe she’d declare something like, “I’m quitting the military to start a merchandise business! Sister, help me!”
Lowell was humming softly to herself as she headed back to rejoin the others.
Scattered throughout the academy were various walls and barriers. White smoke was rising from behind one of them.
Cigarette smoke.
‘What are they thinking, smoking around children…’
First priority was making sure she didn’t bring Delin this way.
Just as Lowell was about to leave the area, muttered voices drifted from behind the wall.
“Did you see? She was incredibly cute.”
“To think she’s the little lion’s sister… I still can’t believe it.”
Gossip about herself.
It was such a common occurrence that she barely paid attention anymore.
Actually, it made her feel rather good.
‘Our Delin is adorable. At least they have decent taste.’
She could identify the speakers just by their voices. They were colleagues she’d known since their student days.
Of course, they were colleagues who were closer to being enemies.
As students, they had belonged to opposing factions and snarled at each other constantly. During their trainee period to become instructors, they had lived like sworn adversaries.
Still, hearing them praise Delin suggested they weren’t entirely terrible people.
Just as Lowell was thinking, ‘Praise our Delin more~,’ and leaning against the wall to listen…
“She’s like that now, but… when she grows up a little more, she’ll really be something to behold.”
“You noticed it too?”
“It was a size that couldn’t possibly be missed.”
A conversation that should never have taken place spilled out into the air.
–TL Notes–
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Finally,Rodelin become the senior Rodelin we know and love now! To think that it is because she willingly bear the burden if the family
My guess is that the Second Legion commander is waiting to ise this contract as a trump card,I wonder what for? Perhaps to keep the Lucid family from attacking the last boss who should be weaker than a Legion commander?
And so this is how Lowel become the mad lion and her attitude when she met Zero!
This flashback or backstory is very long!!! I know this is lore but…