The palace was just as 'high-fantasy meets science art' as I was expecting from the rest of the city. Spherical, gleaming buildings with wedges cut out to expose it to the atmosphere; all just floating in a staggered sequence in the middle of the air. Lines running here and there across them with moving cylinder shapes attached - that I assumed probably had something to do with transport.
Elevators shouldn't be moving in those directions, angles, or speeds by my Earth common sense, but my brain was kind of shutting off to those types of anti-physics oddities. Many of the other details about the place began to be lost to me as I listened to the two… servants? Retainers? Vassals?... small talk with Soren.
The transport landed in one of the partial spheres and the four of us exited toward a doorway. I shifted my eyes toward the sky while being led. Literal 'space-nobility' wouldn't just be unprotected like it all *seemed* to be here any more than Earth's old hotshots.
There had been a momentary sizzle sound as the vehicle passed through into the wedge of the sphere. Even though I can't see anything when I look up. None of them had said anything about it or reacted, but I'd bet my Presio that things would have ended badly for a vehicle with people that 'didn't belong here'.
Well, I wouldn't really bet him for *anything* so you get the point.
We made it a couple feet into the private residence when some kind of flying 'blur of white' struck.
"Ahahaha! You're back!"
The… *being* clung to the top half of my fiance as it squealed in joy, before he slowly extricated it and sat it back on the ground. My first thought was that it was a talking, bright-white-spined echidna. Or… some kind of giant static-shocked furball.
The hair that had frizzed every-which-way and made any rapid identification impossible, smoothed down everywhere suddenly as if magic. All the way from its head down the length of their small, child size body.
I guess my descriptive thoughts are rather rude, but the thing that first jumped out had appeared nothing like a floor length haired little girl in a fancy dress.
"I have returned. I'll introduce you. Kiria, this is my younger sister - Phoren."
"Ah, it's nice to meet you."
"Oh? Oho? So this is my brother's preference."
A tad bit of cold sweat crept down my back as her eyes seemed to take me in. It was kind of intense. She was the only one of his siblings he'd ever spoken about at any length. It was kind of obvious that he favored her.
If she didn't get along with me… but she just nodded and then turned back to Soren.
"Are you sure I can't have her instead?"
"Hah?"
It was not an expected response and I couldn't help but vocally let out the confusion; startled. Probably a little too loud. Seeking a good impression aside, I'm not a *pet human* after all, to be traded at his will.
Soren's… pet...
I'm not..?
"That would be a no, Phoren. Your jokes will only go so far with me on that front."
"I would not joke about that!"
"Then all the more reason to stay reasonably quiet about your thoughts."
"Hoooh, so that is how it is, is it?"
"Wait, my brain can't anymore… what exactly is happening?"
Sparks were flying. If they had some beam sabers at hand, the two looked ready to break out into a flashy duel with them. Both of their eyes smoldered with 'challenge' against an enemy as they bantered.
The times he mentioned his sister, I didn't think they had a bad relationship. She even flying-tackle hugged him when we just entered!
...I also did think he was a human once upon a time, so my scorekeeping for 'things I know to be absolutely true' isn't exactly unblemished. A bride-to-be really should not be constantly losing her confidence about herself in this way.
"We apparently share tastes in partners," my fiance finally said with a near scowl. "Only whereas I willfully let myself be confused by it for some minutes when I initially discovered you, my sister is a lot more decisive on her emotions.
"I was so considerate of the other active princes finding fault with your origin that it never crossed my mind this would be any kind of problem. However..."
The small girl pushed out her palm to stop him.
"Hm. I will acquiesce if it comes to romance, because how much she clearly adores you monogamously does not escape my sight, but as my soon-to-be-sister-in-law we will have our own special family-as-friends relationship that you will *not* deny me!"
She returned with the haughty measure of a selfish, rich customer demanding special treatment. Obviously, I could do nothing but palm my forehead.
That I lasted this entire conversation until now without doing so is praiseworthy.
"No… I mean… you aren't wrong, about how I feel, but while putting aside any shock at being essentially hit on at first sight by my fiance's tiny little sister, how in any of this short interaction have you come to some kind of definition of my feelings for him?"
The girl puffed out her chest with a 'Hm, hm~'.
Not that she had any chest to be proud of yet.
"Nothing at all gets past me, my lovely Kiria. It was all over your face. Besides, what kind of girl but one in love with him would be standing here before me from across the many galaxies?"
Well, again. She's not wrong.