Leon's POV:
I heard a knock on the door, and I let out a weary sigh, already having a good idea of who could be on the other side. At first, I hesitated, but her persistent knocking finally got the better of me, and I reluctantly made my way towards the door to answer it.
As I opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of a silver-haired girl, four years younger than me, with distinctive scarlet eyes and pointed ears. It was Altesia Asura, or Tessia for short, my younger sister.
"Brother!" she exclaimed, and before I could even react, she leaped towards me like a bull, causing me to groan in pain.
"Ugh...!" I grunted as the impact almost made me lose my balance, and I struggled to keep the food I had eaten down.
I looked at her and was about to scold her for doing something dangerous, but seeing her smile like that made me not care anymore. Instead, I chuckled and ruffled her hair affectionately.
"What are you doing here, Tessia?" I asked.
"I heard that you weren't feeling well, so I came to check on you!" she replied with a grin.
"I'm fine," I assured her. "I'm not having a fever anymore, so don't worry about me."
"So, can we play now?! I haven't played with you since yesterday, so let's play today!" she said, showing me her pearly white teeth.
Honestly, her brightness must be the sun for this whole dark room. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and I couldn't help but smile at her eagerness to spend time with me. "Sure, we can play," I replied, glad to see her excitement.
Altesia's eyes widened with excitement, and she clapped her hands together. "Yay! What do you want to play?"
I thought for a moment, considering what games we could play indoors. "How about a board game?" I suggested.
"Ooh, what game?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
"It's called 'Dragon's Hoard.' You play as a knight trying to collect treasure from a dragon's lair," I explained.
"That sounds fun!" she exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
I grinned at her enthusiasm and went to grab the game from the shelf. As I set up the board, I couldn't help but notice Tessia's excited smile. Her eyes were sparkling with anticipation, and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. Her excitement was contagious, and I couldn't help but feel a small smile forming on my own face.
She looked so excited, it almost felt like I could see a dog tail wagging behind her, though I knew it was impossible. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought, and Tessia looked at me quizzically.
"What's so funny, brother?" she asked.
"Nothing, just a silly thought I had," I replied, still chuckling. "Are you ready to play?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Let's start!"
***
"This game sucks," Tessia muttered, her early excitement nowhere to be seen.
"It's not that the game sucks, Tessia. You just need strategy to win, and it's probably too hard for you right now," I said, trying to console her.
"I hate this game! Let's play something else!" she wailed, crossing her arms and pouting.
As I watched Tessia pout and puff out her cheeks in frustration, I couldn't help but find her adorable. The way her cheeks protruded outwards, making her look like a little chipmunk, was just too cute to resist. I fought the urge to poke her cheeks, knowing she would probably get annoyed with me, but it was difficult to resist.
As I pondered this, I realized that Tessia was the only one I could make eye contact with. It was a strange thought, but true.
Although I often felt uneasy with making eye contact, even when it came from my parents, I never experienced that fear when looking into Tessia's eyes. Perhaps it was because the way she looked at me was always so pure and innocent. Her silver hair framed her face in a way that made her stand out, and her bright scarlet eyes shone like precious gems.
She didn't have any hidden agendas or negative emotions towards me, and her gaze was always filled with pure joy and excitement. It was like looking at the world through the eyes of a child, and for a moment, I forgot about all my worries and problems.
"What would you like to play?" I asked her, still resisting the urge to poke her cheeks.
"Hmm?" she said, "How about we play sword? Like how we used to in the past?!"
Tessia's suggestion caught me off guard. Play sword? Memories of my childhood flooded my mind. We used to play sword all the time, but that was before I lost my confidence. The thought of picking up a sword again after two years made me nervous.
How could I satisfy her expectations if I was talentless with the sword? I wanted to decline her and avoid the possibility of embarrassing myself, but her bright smile and enthusiastic expression made it hard for me to say no.
As I was pondering this, I heard her mutter, "Is it no good?" she asked.
I hesitated, trying to find the right words to express my thoughts. I wanted to be honest with her, but at the same time, I didn't want to disappoint her.
"It's not that it's no good," I started, choosing my words carefully. "It's just that I'm not very good at it. I don't want to disappoint you."
I could see a flicker of disappointment in her eyes, and my heart sank. But then she brightened up again, as if coming up with an idea.
"That's okay, brother! I can teach you how to do it better!" she exclaimed.
I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Despite being four years younger than me, she was always so full of energy and determination.
"All right," I said, finally giving in to her request. "Let's play sword then. But you have to promise to go easy on me."
"Yay!" Tessia yelled out enthusiastically, bouncing up and down in excitement.
I looked around the small room, trying to figure out how we could play sword in this small space. It was definitely going to be a challenge, given the limited space.
"Now then, what should I do?" I muttered, scratching my head as I tried to come up with a solution.
Tessia, still bouncing with excitement, looked at me with anticipation. "Come on, big brother, let's play!" she urged.
***
After some time of deliberation and moving some furniture (I said furniture, but it was just the bed and the bedside table) around, we finally managed to clear out a small space in the center of the room.
The two of us faced each other, taking on weird stances that we thought were necessary for the occasion. I looked at the sword in my hands, and I slowly grasped it, feeling its weight in my hands. This was the first time in two years that I had held a sword. The last time I remembered doing so was when I threw the sword Grandfather gave me in the courtyard.
As I hadn't swung a sword in such a long time, I was unsure whether I still remembered how to do it. I tried to swing it, but not too hard, just to test the weight and feel of the weapon. The blade whistled as it cut through the air, and I could feel the familiar weight and balance in my hand.
"Are you ready, brother?" asked Tessia, still assuming that weird stance.
"Ready when you are!" I said, still assuming a weird stance of my own.
"Okay, here I come!"
Tessia ran towards me, swinging her wooden sword as she came closer. As I watched her approach, I couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
What was it that surprised me? Well, to be honest, I hadn't really paid much attention to Tessia's swordsmanship in the past, but now I realized that the way she swung her sword and the way she gripped it felt completely natural to her.
Even though her movements looked awkward at first glance, upon closer observation they were actually quite swift and precise. It dawned on me that Tessia might actually have a natural talent for swordsmanship, unlike me...
I tried my best to conceal my surprise as Tessia launched her attack, determined to block her strike. However, when her sword collided with mine, I couldn't help but feel a shockwave course through my arms. The impact of her strike was unexpectedly strong, making me struggle to maintain my balance.
After successfully blocking Tessia's attack, I decided to immediately counterattack by swinging my sword upward. Despite her attempts to block my attack, her small hands were unable to firmly grasp the sword, causing it to fly out of her hand and land on the floor with a thud.
"Uhh, I lost..." she said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
I remained silent, lost in thought. If that match had continued, I couldn't help but think that I would have been the one to lose.
At that moment, I felt a sudden surge of anger and frustration, not just towards my own lack of talent, but towards Tessia as well. How could she be so good at something that I struggled with so much? I felt a sense of betrayal towards myself for feeling envious of my own little sister.
I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. I knew that these negative feelings were not productive and would only hinder my progress in improving my own skills. After all, it wasn't Tessia's fault that she had a natural talent for swordsmanship. I couldn't let my own jealousy and resentment get in the way of our relationship.
I looked back at Tessia, who was now picking up her sword from the floor. She had a worried look on her face, as if she could sense the tension in the air. I quickly put on a smile and reassured her that everything was fine.
"Great match, Tessia!" I said, trying to sound as genuine as possible. "You're really good at this."
Tessia's worried expression turned into a bright smile as she responded, "Thanks, brother! I'm so happy we got to play sword again. It's been so long!"
I nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. I realized that what really mattered was being able to protect Tessia when it truly counted, regardless of whether or not she was better than me at swordsmanship. As this thought crossed my mind, a disturbing image of her lifeless body flashed before my eyes.