This house is big for three people to live in—comfortable, but a hassle to clean. It's basically a whole apartment building. It was given to my father as the Royal Commander, which comes with quite a few luxuries. Thanks to my father's teammates and friends, no one dares to swindle us or corner us.
Still, the store had to close because of a problem in supply production. So I leased it out for a few years, which generates a decent amount of income. Even if I need to start a business, I still have a year before the lease contract ends.
First, I need to find good, talented people—from an orphanage, or slaves might be a better option—before I go looking for a few gems among them.
But before all that, I need to wake up my siblings.
This is a world where magic and technology have both advanced—not as much as Earth's technology, perhaps, but magic here has accomplished things technology never could. If not for the wars and calamities that strike from time to time, this world might have advanced even further.
"Akhila! Akira! Wake up, it's time to wake up!"
"Brother, just a few more minutes, please... Akhila needs to get ready first. She needs more time."
"Hmph." She snorted at her brother and stalked off to the bathroom to freshen up.
Seeing them like this always brings me a strange comfort. And it's exactly why I need to get stronger—so I can protect them.
They're both eleven, the same age, and neither of them has any memory of our parents. I feel a deeper sense of responsibility for them because of that—like I'm the only thread tying them to a family at all. Both of them share my golden hair, though theirs shifts to black in certain shades of light, which honestly looks quite striking on them.
I watch the bathroom door close behind Akhila and let out a breath.
"I'm preparing breakfast, come fast!"
"Okay!" they shouted in unison.
What should I prepare? The daily routine, of course. I walk into the kitchen, already thinking it through—heating the milk, toasting the bread, breaking the eggs, making the omelet.
As I mentioned, this world has a teaching program covering the basics for ages three to fourteen, along with physical training for the body. After that, one can go on to college, which requires passing entrance exams. From there, people become doctors, engineers, scientists, soldiers (military), or go into business or join one of the guilds, which are private.
I have my graduation today. So today is the last day of my schooling. Once I join my academy, I'll be separated from my siblings—which is honestly quite painful to think about.
The smell of toast fills the kitchen, and for a moment I just stand there, spatula in hand, listening to Akhila and Akira bicker over something down the hall. A year from now, mornings like this might not exist anymore. I push the thought down and flip the eggs.
Maybe I should hire a maid for the siblings before I leave for the academy.
"You say it," Akhila said.
"No, you say it. You're the girl, so you say it," Akira shot back.
"No, let's say it at the same time," Akhila decided.
"Come on, let's eat," I called.
"What are you two bickering about now?"
"Brother, today let's eat outside, after your graduation."
"No way. I'll cook something super nice for the occasion."
"No!" they shouted in unison.
Why are you both shouting? My cooking is pretty good, you know.
"Definitely not. If you don't let us, we won't talk to you."
"...Sigh. Fine." I gave in. "Then go get ready."
"Yay!" They both grinned, clearly thinking the same thing: at least today, we get to eat something good.
I looked at them, half-frustrated, half-fond, as they finished their breakfast. After we closed the door behind us, the three of us headed out, riding off toward school.
The morning air was crisp, carrying that faint metallic tang magic always left behind—like static before a storm. Akhila sat behind me, arms wrapped loosely around my waist, while Akira balanced on the side rail of the carriage, grumbling about how slow the driver was going.
"Brother, are you nervous?" Akhila asked suddenly, her voice quieter than usual.
"Why would I be nervous? It's just a graduation."
"Liar," Akira snorted. "You've been spacing out since this morning."
I didn't answer right away. They weren't wrong. Today wasn't just a graduation—it was the last ordinary day the three of us would have together for a while. After this, there would be entrance exams, academy life, training schedules that didn't bend for anyone, royal or not. I'd chosen the military path, mostly because it was the fastest way to gain real strength, real connections, real power to protect what little family I had left.
But strength came at a cost. Distance, for one
Akira didn't say anything, but he stopped swinging his legs off the side of the carriage and just sat there, quiet, watching the city blur past—the bakery stalls opening their shutters, the guild banners snapping in the wind, the faint shimmer of a low-level barrier spell rippling over the academy gates in the distance like heat over summer stone.
We reached the school just as the bell tower struck the hour. Other students filed in around us, some in uniforms crisp with the academy crest, others—like my siblings—still a year out, in the plainer robes of the lower school.
"Go on," I told them, ruffling Akira's hair before he could dodge it. "I'll find you after the ceremony."
"You better," Akhila said, already straightening her sleeves, trying to look unaffected and failing completely.
I watched them disappear into the crowd of younger students before turning toward the auditorium, where rows of graduating seniors were already gathering beneath banners bearing the kingdom's crest. Today, I'd receive my certificate. Tomorrow, the real work would begin—finding people I could trust, building something solid enough to survive my absence, securing the year I had left before the lease ran out and decisions could no longer wait.