Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 2 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===

As soon as we returned to the dorm, I decided to begin tutoring Tia.

I had already gotten materials appropriate for Tia's level from Shinomiya-sensei, so I took Tia to my room and placed the textbooks and notebooks on the desk.

Elementary school curriculum apparently aimed to teach students how to write by hand, so materials were paper-based. For me who usually relied on a portable terminal during lessons, the touch of paper and pencil felt very nostalgic.

"...You really have to sit here after all."

Seeing Tia sit on my lap matter-of-factly, I could not help but sigh.

"Yes, because Tia is the wife."

Tia turned herself and looked up at me, smiling with a nod.

"...Normally speaking, even married couples don't stick together like this twenty-four hours a day."

"Other people are other people, we are us. Also, we are newlyweds."

"No, now that you mentioned it, I don't recall us getting married."

I pointed out the most fundamental point.

"Ehhhh?"

Tia showed surprise.

Did I bring it up too rashly? I could not help but feel frantic, but she immediately smiled.

"Now that you mention it, we... still haven't held the wedding! Yuu, when will it be held?"

"W-When... First of all, Tia, we can't marry at our age, right?"

"Human rules have nothing to do with us, because we are dragons."

Refuted by these unexpected words, I was speechless for a while.

No good, human logic did not work on Tia.

I had to get her to attend class normally by tomorrow. What should I do?

"......Tia, about this issue, let's discuss it later. Now's the time to be studying. Come, open the textbook."

After thinking for a while, in the end, I could only postpone the issue to resolve later.

"Eh... Then it's a promise? We will decide on the wedding date properly, okay?"

"If possible, I'd like to start the discussion from an earlier stage than that..."

Let alone changing her mind, I felt that I was the one being gradually forced into a corner.

While thinking of ways to reverse the current situation, I started teaching Tia.

As soon as she focused on studying, Tia became an excellent student. Reading passages from the text, she would ask whenever she did not understand any part, instantly absorbing the knowledge.

On the topic of languages, she was capable of using three languages, including Japanese, on the level of everyday conversation.

—It looked like she had a good teacher in the past.

Considering Tia's appearance, it was quite unlikely she was attending a normal school, but Tia was no less educated than peers from the same age group.

I originally thought that since her way of speaking Japanese was very child-like, her mental age was probably very childish too, but perhaps it was the opposite.

The tutoring went very smoothly. By dinner time, we had already finished what was planned for today.

At 7pm, Mitsuki had returned home and came to call us. We had dinner together in the dining hall.

"...Tia-san's education seems to be going poorly."

Seeing Tia treat my lap as her designated seat, Mitsuki remarked with disappointment.

"No, academics-wise, it's going very smoothly... It's just that teaching her to follow rules is very hard."

Hearing my answer, Mitsuki sighed.

"I understand. Then I shall take over education regarding rules, because I am the student council president, I cannot allow Tia-san to do as she pleases."

Thus, after dinner, Mitsuki started to educate Tia in my room.

However—

"...That is why, Tia-san, by living a rule-abiding life at Midgard, only through that will the world recognize our existence&mdash;"

"That is something humans decided on their own. Tia is a dragon, it has nothing to do with Tia."

"..."

Confronted with Tia's dragon logic for who knew how many times, Mitsuki slumped her shoulders in dejection.

"I now understand your hardship very well, Nii-san."

Mitsuki showed an exhausted expression to me, who had become Tia's chair.

"I know right? No matter how we try to make her accept rules, it just doesn't work."

I remarked with a wry smile, feeling as though I had finally gained a comrade.

"She is truly a formidable opponent... Time sure flies. It is already past 9pm. Time to take a bath and clear our minds slightly."

Saying that, Mitsuki got up from her seat, but froze after hearing Tia's next comment.

"Then Tia will have a bath with Yuu!"

"This came after all..."

Pressing her hand to her forehead, Mitsuki murmured quietly.

"Tia, I'm begging, could you take a bath alone? Like going to the washroom, I'll wait outside."

I tried to ask her as gently as possible but Tia shook her head forcefully.

"No! Tia wants to have a bath with Yuu! The husband has to be with the wife at all times!"

"...Why do you hate separating from me so much, Tia? I'm not going away, you know?"

I steeled myself and tried asking, prompting Tia to show a gloomy expression.

"No... If Tia is not at your side, you'll disappear for sure."

"Disappear?"

"..."

I did not quite understand what she meant, so I repeated the same word as a question, but Tia kept her lips shut tight and refused to answer.

Silently, she gripped my clothing, refusing to budge even if the sky were to come crashing down.

"Understood, then it cannot be helped..."

Hearing Mitsuki say that, I jumped in surprise.

"Eh? No way? You allow it?"

I really could not believe that Mitsuki, the student council president, would permit a mixed-gender bath. When the fact that Iris helped scrubbed my back came to light, I was punished to write a huge number of repentance essays.

"Yes, but on one condition. I basically predicted this, hence I came prepared. Please wait a moment, Nii-san."

Saying that, Mitsuki left the room and soon returned with certain articles in her arms.

"What's that...?"

I pointed at what Mitsuki had brought and asked.

"Swimsuits and pajamas."

Mitsuki answered with a serious face. Figuring out what she meant, I frowned.

"......Swimsuits make it okay?"

This was quite a huge compromise on Mitsuki's part, I thought, so I confirmed with her.

"The swimsuits are school prescribed, so just think of it as entering a hot spring and there should not be a problem with public morals. H-However, because I am responsible for supervising, I must be present too."

Blushing, Mitsuki said something even more unexpected.

"What... You're taking a bath with us too, Mitsuki?"

"&mdash;Is there any problem? Do you prefer to be alone with Tia-san, enjoying a lovey-dovey bathtime together?"

"H-How could I possibly think that!?"

I frantically denied. However&mdash;I somehow could not stay calm as soon as the thought of taking a bath with Mitsuki crossed my mind. Mitsuki was my sister, so there should be no reason to be so concerned.

"In that case, there is no problem, right? I will enter the bath with Nii-san too."

...With Nii-san?

The central topic should be Tia, so her way of putting it made me feel a sense of dissonance. But due to Mitsuki's intimidating gaze, I nodded in agreement without pointing it out.

"G-Got it..."

"Very well, bath time it is."

Mitsuki declared with elation. Somehow, she sounded inexplicably happy.

Perhaps she was remembering things from childhood.

&mdash;Eh? However... Did I ever take baths with Mitsuki before?

If we were siblings, bathing together as children should be quite normal.

But no matter how hard I thought, I still could not find memories of that sort&mdash;



"Sure enough, three people in a bath is very crowded..."

Having changed into a school swimsuit, Mitsuki surveyed the bathroom and remarked. The form-fitting navy-blue swimsuit served as a perfect foil to emphasize Mitsuki's snow-white complexion and slender figure.

"This is a swimsuit...? So tight, it feels weird."

Tia seemed like she had never worn one before. With curiosity, she pulled at her shoulder strap.

What drew my gaze was the red dragon mark on Tia's thigh.

&mdash;Once targeted by Basilisk, the dragon mark would turn red.

It was white in Iris' case, which seemed to imply that the D's symptoms would vary depending on the dragon.

"...Nii-san, your gaze is very suspicious."

Just as I was staring at Tia's dragon mark, Mitsuki pulled me by the ear.

Naturally, I was wearing swimming trunks. It felt quite out of place to be wearing swimsuits in a bathroom, but perhaps due to the presence of two girls, there seemed to be a sweet fragrance drifting in the air.

This was a single room's bathroom, hence it was never designed to accommodate multiple people bathing in the first place. With three people inside, there was no space left for rinsing oneself. Mitsuki seemed to realize the same thing while staring at the cramped bathroom with a troubled look.

"Three people rinsing together seems too hard. Nii-san, please enter the tub first. We will switch later."

"Understood."

I poured hot water over myself to briefly wash away the sweat before stepping into the tub. Then I soaked myself up to the shoulders. As a result, the water level rose to almost overflowing.

"Ah, Tia wants a soak too!"

I finally had some space to myself but Tia jumped into the tub. With a massive splash, hot water spilled all over the floor.

"Hey, Tia-san, what are you doing!? You have to rinse your body together with me first!"

Hearing Mitsuki scold her, Tia pouted.

"No, Tia has to be with Yuu."

Saying that, Tia leaned herself against me in the tub.

"T-Tia, don't lean in so close."

The sensation of soft skin, transmitted through the swimsuit, was making me waver.

And left behind, Mitsuki stood there stunned for a moment before speaking in a determined voice:

"In that case... I shall join in too."

"Eh? H-Hey?"

Mitsuki forced herself into the tub. Naturally, since this was not meant to be a bathtub for three, it became extremely crowded. Everyone was pressed together while the tub's hot water flowed out.

Feeling something soft against my shoulder, I hastily changed my posture, but this time, my knee went between Mitsuki's thighs.

"Ah... N-Nii-san... Not there, please."

"S-Sorry."

Every move of the body caused friction between skin and swimsuits.

"Mm..."

Mitsuki exhaled hot breath.

"Ehehe, husband!"

Tia happily leaned herself against me.

Unable to move, I could only surrender to the two of them.

"Three people is too much of a stretch. Could one of you please go out?"

"No, Tia will not leave Yuu."

Tia wrapped her slender arms around me.

"...If Tia-san will not go out, I shall not leave either, because I am in charge of supervising... By the way, you two are leaning too close together."

Mitsuki kept pushing her body over, trying to get between me and Tia.

Her swimsuit slid down slightly, exposing the valley between her petite yet beautifully shaped breasts.

"Jeez, don't get in the way."

Tia resisted intensely, hugging me even tighter. This scene in the narrow bathtub was almost like a game of sardines-in-the-box.

"I-If you two aren't going out, I'm leaving."

To me, they were Tia, who was just a child, and Mitsuki, my younger sister.

I originally thought that I would not feel especially conscious like with Iris... But I found it unbearable. Despite soaking in the hot water only for so short a time, my face was already too hot to bear.

"No! The husband cannot run away and leave the wife behind!"

But Tia pounced on me, refusing to let me escape.

"Tia-san will follow you if you leave, Nii-san, so the situation will remain the same. If you are leaving the tub, Nii-san, please wait until you warm up more. If either of you were to catch a cold, I would be to blame for failure in management."

Saying that, Mitsuki grabbed my arm to keep me here.

My body was already burning but Mitsuki's words and gaze had a kind power impossible to resist. Reluctantly, I sat down in the bathtub.

Then after roughly ten minutes&mdash;until the happy and excited Tia went dizzy from the heat&mdash;I kept enduring, left with no choice but to keep my mind blank to prevent unwanted thoughts.



"She is sleeping so soundly."

Looking at Tia lying on my bed in pajamas, sound asleep, Mitsuki smiled.

"...Now I'm finally liberated."

I exhaled deeply, collapsing completely in the chair in front of the desk.

"You worked hard, Nii-san."

Mitsuki praised me with a wry smile then sat down on the bed's edge.

After the bath, we changed into our respective pajamas and drank cold drinks to soothe our throats... By the time we realized, Tia had already started nodding off drowsily .

Anyway, we laid her out on my bed and she fell asleep in the blink of an eye.

"But the mission failed. In the end, I still haven't convinced her."

Most likely in class tomorrow, Tia was still planning to sit on my lap.

"Likewise, I have failed to teach Tia-san to abide by rules. I shall explain to Shinomiya-sensei tomorrow to ask for an extension."

"Thank you, Mitsuki, then I'm saved. However... Unless we find a way to resolve the problem of Tia believing herself to be a dragon, it's probably a waste of effort no matter how much time we spend trying to convince her."

Rules decided by humans were irrelevant to dragons&mdash;These words rendered all arguments moot.

"...To be honest, I did not expect her to be such a stubborn child at all. I was told that she did not resist at all, no matter when NIFL took her into custody or when she was transported to Midgard to be examined. Always expressionless, she listened obediently to others."

"That's such a far cry from right now."

Tia's face was always busy making all kinds of expressions. While spinning in circles because of her, I could hardly imagine such a description applying to her.

"Yes, like a completely different person compared to what we saw of her during the full-school assembly. In the beginning, I thought she was a reticent and obedient child..."

"In other words, your 'Ds are human' assertion was something Tia found intolerable, to the point of causing a drastic change in personality. Mitsuki, do you know what kind of environment Tia lived in previously?"

Mitsuki glanced at Tia after hearing my question.

"&mdash;Before lessons ended, I asked Shinomiya-sensei to tell me in as much detail as possible. Tia-san seems to be sleeping soundly, so it should be fine to discuss the matter now. Because there are things I would be reluctant for her to hear."

Hearing her say that, I frowned.

"Did Tia have some kind of traumatic experience?"

Tia's belief had similarities with D-rejecting organizations. I was worried whether she might have been captured by that type of organization at one point.

However, Mitsuki shook her head slowly.

"&mdash;No, it happens to be the opposite. Tia-san used to be worshiped."

"Worshiped?"

"Reportedly, when NIFL's team discovered Tia-san, it was in a military vehicle belonging to the dragon worshiping cult, the Sons of Muspell."

Hearing that name, I could not help but gasp.

"The Sons of Muspell... Isn't that the world's most vicious terrorist organization?"

So-called dragon cultists were polar opposites in ideology compared to D-rejecting organizations. They revered and worshiped dragons, the monsters transcending human wisdom, as gods. In a certain sense, it was only inevitable for new religions like this to arise in a world threatened by dragons.

So-called worship was a method to escape from absolute fear. Believing themselves to be apostles of dragons, it provided them with mental stability.

Out of the dragon cults of this sort, the Sons of Muspell was the largest sect and was the most radical in their thinking. They launched terrorist attacks against countries and organizations that attempted to defeat dragons, obstructing them persistently. Naturally, Asgard and NIFL were also targets for them.

"Did you ever come across the Sons of Muspell, Nii-san?"

Perhaps sensing something from my bitter tone, Mitsuki asked me hesitantly.

"...Yeah, because they would sneak into countries where dragon disasters had occurred, trying to gain followers, so it was inevitable that they came into conflict with NIFL. I have received orders in the past to immediately eliminate the D who is their leader as soon as she is discovered."

"Eh...? Their leader is a D."

Seeing Mitsuki's eyes widened from surprise, I explained to her.

"This was not disclosed publicly, but the leader of the Sons of Muspell is a D who had been deemed a disaster. Her name is Kili Surtr Muspelheim. She has killed far more humans than the dragons and is feared as a ''witch'' in NIFL. However, I've never met her."

If I met her, it would definitely turn into a killed or be killed situation. The reason why I could keep my hands clean was also because I had never encountered her.

"No way... To think a D was leading a terrorist organization."

Mitsuki's voice trembled, greatly shaken.

"The Ds' position in society would probably be endangered if this comes to light. That's why Midgard and other benefactor countries have engaged in information control. It's normal that you haven't heard of it."

"...But why would a D want to worship dragons? They are clearly our enemies."

Mitsuki asked in puzzlement.

"The dragonification of Ds is top secret, right? So they simply don't know about this... Or even after knowing it, they still want to become dragons."

"The former I could understand... But it is the latter, I find it incomprehensible."

"Well, who can understand how terrorists think? However... Judging from Tia's behavior, it's very likely that their organization knows about dragonification."

Tia said she was born to be a dragon's wife.

Those words probably did not mean marrying a male D like me, but referred to being a real dragon's mate like for Basilisk for example.

To increase the number of dragons, dragon cultists had indoctrinated Tia like that. Things made sense if that was the case.

"So the reason why Tia-san insists she is a dragon is because of that...?"

"Hard to say...? How should I put this? Because I don't think Tia is the kind of person who believes everything others say without question."

When tutoring her today, I came to understand that Tia was a smart child who always took initiative to ask questions about what she did not understand, trying to comprehend them. Always seeking knowledge with basis, would she unquestioningly accept those absurd teachings of dragon cultists?

"Indeed... The impression I gather from Tia-san is that she was forced to convince herself to believe rather than sincerely believing she is a dragon."

&mdash;Convinced herself to believe... huh?

Indeed, throwing a tantrum in response to allegations was evidence of uncertainty in one's heart.

Humans sometimes worshiped things as gods, even when they were monsters like dragons, trying to believe the impossible. If Tia was believing herself to be a dragon in order to maintain mental stability... Then by doing this, what was she running away from?

"Mitsuki, were her parents by her side when they found Tia?"

I asked because I recalled what happened at the beach. Tia seemed to react quite strongly to the subject of her parents. Perhaps that might have something to do with Tia's condition.

"I have no idea. At least according to what I heard, there was no information regarding Tia-san's parents."

"I see... Then I guess I'll have to ask her directly."

I looked at Tia's sleeping face and said.

"She is already asleep now, so ask her tomorrow. Well then, it is time for us to sleep too."

Saying that, Mitsuki lay down next to Tia.

"Huh...? You're sleeping here too, Mitsuki?"

Seeing Mitsuki lying down in an unguarded state, I asked her in surprise.

"It is probably a bad idea to separating Tia-san from you while she is asleep. But that being said, I cannot allow the two of you to be alone."

"No, but this bed is too small for three people to sleep in."

"...What are you talking about? Nii-san, you are sleeping on the floor. Please head over to the unused room next door to move the bedding over. Nii-san, you really have been lacking in delicacy lately."

Rebutted with her cold gaze, I felt my cheeks grow hot.

Because the three of us had bathed together, I mistakenly thought that the bed needed to be shared between the three of us too.

"I-I know, I was just kidding."

I frantically explained myself then headed out to move the futon over.

"...Nii-san in the past would have suggested this kind of thing himself&mdash;"

Just as I was about to leave the room, I heard Mitsuki's murmurs to herself, lingering in my ear the whole time.

Had I really changed?

However, I had no way of telling whether the "past" Mitsuki mentioned was referring to three years ago or three weeks ago, before the battle against Leviathan?