Eight years ago, my older brother was involved in a traffic accident. Certainly, his recovery inside the hospital was miraculous, since the wound produced was directly in the heart.
A piece of metal from the car he was riding in embedded itself in his chest, piercing his heart. After recovering from him, I couldn't see him again, not until eight years in the future.
At that time, we decided that the best thing was to let my brother decide his own path, but of course, without getting so far away from him. When Aoko Aozaki arrived in this city, things became quite complicated for her to take over the guardianship of my older brother, having permission from my father.
A short time later, Touko Aozaki also came, who is the one who would become a direct beneficiary for both poles of the story, since she is Aoko Aozaki's older sister, and also, she was the one who helped my father when his [Tohno Blood] it was beginning to get out of control.
After years of not knowing almost anything about my brother, in addition to what Touko has told me, I had convinced myself that he was not going to be the same as before with me.
I certainly believed it.
Since what Touko told me, they were feats and situations in which a Nii-san that I do not know was involved. I never would have imagined that my older brother would become a [Spellcaster], which is a lower species of [Magician]. However, he remains constant in the study of [Magecraft], which is what his close ones like Aoko Aozaki and Touko Aozaki do.
Those two women are unbeatable in their own fields, and I am mostly misinformed of the extent of their abilities, I only know that Aoko Aozaki is the [Fifth Magician] in existence today. The fastest to get that title.
Anyway, let's continue where I left off, I don't want to deviate by talking too much about the two of them, which although they are very nice, right now is not the topic I started with.
After the accident, the family doctor diagnosed Nii-san with anemia. Of course, a wound in the heart from which he hardly managed to recover by a miracle,
According to the Aozaki sisters, my brother has had small blackouts before, but it had been a while since he had passed out from anemia.
I guess I can say that because of that, I'm here.
I am Akiha Tohno, heir to the [Tohno Family] and the younger sister of Shiki Tohno.
I am currently in the school infirmary, the place where Ciel-senpai brought Nii-san after he passed out.
I can hear his breathing, so I don't care at all, to be honest.
I owe Ciel-senpai a favor for bringing Nii-san to the infirmary and going to tell us about it.
Kohaku and Hisui went to buy drinks for everyone, while Ciel-senpai and I stayed to wait for Nii-san to wake up.
It's already lunchtime, and Nii-san still isn't awake.
But I guess as long as he's breathing, he's good.
Oh.
What kind of sister am I? I forgot to take his glasses off now that he's sleeping. It would be a shame if they broke.
─Wait, Akiha-san.
When I was about to remove Nii-san's glasses, it was that Ciel-senpai stopped me from doing it.
Why?
─Is something wrong, Ciel-senpai? Is there a reason why not take these glasses from Nii-san?
─Yes, Shi-... I mean, Tohno-kun, he will feel a horrible headache as soon as he wakes up, so it is not advisable to remove his glasses.
─A headache? What are you talking about?
I ignore what Ciel-senpai was trying to tell me and take off Nii-san's glasses.
Hm?
What is this?
The weight of the frame and the glass is too disproportionate. Not the kind of weight that glasses should have. And it's not like they have a raise either.
I look through the glasses and there is nothing, not a particular bit of magnification.
Why are they so heavy then?
Ciel-senpai who was looking at me with a flat expression of seriousness, it is she who can give me an answer.
─Hey, Ciel-senpai. I am willing to acknowledge you as Nii-san's girlfriend and give you full permission to approach him if you tell me what these glasses are.
─I'm not Tohno-kun's girlfriend. Even if he wanted to, he and I are from completely different worlds. But if you still want to know, I would recommend asking Tohno-kun.
─Oh? So it's something you don't know either? I thought that since they were close, he could have told you about it.
─Whether he told me or not is none of your business, Akiha-san. I'm sure Tohno-kun will have a good explanation for you.
...
She is right.
It's irresponsible of me to ask her such questions without thinking about how Nii-san would feel about it. One way or another, Nii-san is the one to explain to me.
He had no vision problems in the past, and it's not like he has a fondness for video games, or something that can impair his vision. That is why it seems strange to me that he now wears glasses.
Especially strange ones like these.
If they have no raise, then what good are they?
But... I don't know if this is of much use...
─I saw a white woman with golden hair who took Nii-san home last night. I know Nii-san is hiding something from me, and he's probably related to that woman and the glasses.
At first I never believed what Nii-san said on stage that he was escaping from the police, it would be ridiculous to have believed that without having doubts about it.
All because that woman in white showed up at home, was that I had the certainty of doubting everything Nii-san told me.
─A white woman... with golden hair...? ─. Ciel-senpai seems to doubt my words.
But I nod in reply.
─That's right. She left Nii-san in the hall and then left. I just watched her go through the window.
─Wait... Tohno-kun with an unknown woman? What could he have been doing?
─I don't know... but I didn't want to wake him up to find out. In her expression I could see the weariness after whatever happened to her. I am not mad at Nii-san or anything like that, but I am concerned for his well-being.
─Akiha-san... if I... told you the secret behind those glasses in your hands, without a moment's hesitation, would you believe me even if it's the most ridiculous thing you hear?
Believe it or not, that's not my choice.
Depending on what she says, she may or may not believe her.
I don't know.
My mind is too pragmatic in that sense. There is something that makes it difficult for me to directly believe what others tell me. But it's not the same with Nii-san. He is honest, he would never lie to me unless he was forced to.
I suppose... he would believe you...
I say, with a bit of hesitation.
Just because it's something about Nii-san, I'm willing to believe what Ciel-senpai tells me.
She adjusts her own glasses a bit and with a small smile on her face, she responds to me.
─Tohno-kun... is someone complex. His mind processes on a different plane than ours, one that only two people in the world understand, including him. As his younger sister, I'm sure you remember the accident in which he hardly survived.
...
Is that related to this?
─What with that?
─Well, since you are the heir to the [Tohno Family], surely you are used to hearing terms like [Magic Circuit] and [Magic], right?
─That's true...
At the time I had no idea.
Of the truth that was to come...
─Well, you see, Tohno-kun is someone very special in the world of [Magic] and it all comes down to what he achieved through the accident he was in.
Someone very special?
Wasn't he just Aoko-san and Touko-san's apprentice?
What does Ciel-senpai mean by that?
Is there... something they're hiding from me? Something much more complex than anything I've heard so far?
─After the accident, he suffered an alteration in his [Magic Circuits] located in the eye area and granted him an ability that is not supposed to exist.
That?
─You've probably heard the name of the [Ryougi Family], am I wrong?
Ryougi? What do they have to do with this?
─What do you want to get to? ─. I ask, since all of this is dragging on unnecessarily.
Ciel-senpai smiles a little more and with a tone of voice used to annoy me, she answers me.
─Have you heard about the [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception]? That ability that the head of the [Ryougi Family] possesses today.
!
Waiting...!
─That's a monstrous ability, one that is supposed to be non-existent, and are you telling me that Nii-san is one of the two people who currently possess it?!
─I'm afraid it is.
Ciel-senpai sounds completely calm when giving me that revelation.
I feel like I almost tripped over my own feet.
I was not able to process it... but if I consider it, the times match perfectly.
Nii-san suffered the accident, after he recovered he met Aoko Aozaki and later the two of them began to live alone. It must have been Aoko Aozaki who gave Nii-san the glasses and... these glasses are a way to block that ability.
The [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception], a type of [Mystic Eyes] that allow its user to "perceive" the "death" of a life form or an object that is determined from its "origin". I do not understand its specific operation, but at least I know its concept.
It is not something too difficult to understand, after all, they are only applicable concepts.
But to think... that Nii-san carried such a powerful ability on her shoulders...
It makes me believe that there is still something I could do to help him. But honestly I have no idea.