yemalu

After our hunt with the infant dragon, Odeta had practically begged me to train her even more, claiming that she wants to be just as strong as I was.

I pointed out that Ardi was supposed to be her teacher but the older Amrap just waved my concerns away and said I should spend more time with my little sister.

They\'re really going all in on the family thing it seems.

And thus, I\'m training her using the only training regime I know: the one Mother made for me when I was still weak.

"Sister… Aster… Did this… Everyday… To get strong?" Odeta gasped, completely worn out after her workout.

Since she was already quite strong, I went straight for the fifty kilometre run and five hundred repetitions of each exercise.

It was definitely a challenge for her but she still managed to complete it and raised no complaints while doing it.

I grinned, "In the past, yes. But now, it\'s not as effective anymore unless I can get my hands on some weights. Which is why I started going out to hunt monsters by myself."

"Sister Aster is… So cool…"

I admit, having a younger sibling who looks up to you feels pretty good.

Dropping my pack, I brought out my canteen and handed the bottle of water to her.

Odeta received it and drank from it gratefully, only slowing down when I reminded her to take it slow.

Eventually, she handed the bottle back to me and I took a swig from it as well, which made Odeta squirm for some reason. Did she want to drink more? She could have just asked though?

"Does sister Aster have a reason to be strong?" She asked after a while.

"Mmm… Actually, why don\'t I ask you that question first? It seems like you really want to be strong for some reason. Is it because of Ardi?"

"Unnn. Ardi has been taking care of me since I was born and she\'s one of the strongest sisters in our town."

"Eh? What about your parents?"

"Mmm… I don\'t know them. I was born using the fertility ritual and my parents were only doing it for the sake of the tribe. That\'s why sister Ardi took me in as her sister to take care of me."

Ah, because Amraps are an all female race, they reproduce by making use of a magic ritual between two female Amraps that would result in the birth of a child. Although they are still capable of doing it the normal way if their partner is capable of doing it too.

But because taking care of children would also mean that the parent\'s would be restricted in their freedom, there are quite a number of Amraps who do not wish to have children.

In a bid to prevent an ageing population, there was a rule implemented that Amrap couples have to participate in the ritual to birth at least one child before they are recognised as an official couple.

If the couple is unwilling to take care of the child, they can give the child to another Amrap who is willing to take care of them, forming sisterhood bonds with the newborn.

It might sound bad at first, but the child would end up being cared for by a willing caretaker rather than parents who see the child as a burden. The relationship between the child and the caretaker would also be strong and for a society that values strength above all else, it was a system that worked for them and has worked for a long time.

At least they weren\'t tossing babies they deemed as weak off a cliff.

I nodded, "So I guess you\'re inspired by your sister Ardi and want to be like her?"

"Yes! I want to become the strongest in the town and then I can find a strong mate and… Ah! I mean… Ehehe…"

So cute, she got embarrassed.

Deciding to throw her a lifeline, I went ahead to answer her, "For me… I want to get stronger so that I can see the World."

"See the world?"

I nodded, "I have two dreams I want to fulfil. The first is to explore the world and write an epic that would be remembered for generations to come."

Odeta\'s eyes sparkled, "Like the stories that sister Aster tells me at night? I like the ones about the villainesses getting their happy stories!!"

"Yes, just like those stories," I giggled while patting her head. "The second dream is to taste all the sweets this world has to offer no matter where I have to go to find them. In order to do that, I need to be strong enough to go anywhere without worrying about any danger I might face, even if the sweet is guarded by a dragon."

Odeta stared at me for a moment before suddenly reaching forward to grab my hand, "Sister Aster! I\'m… I\'m going to train myself! I\'m going to be strong! Strong enough to protect sister Aster! Then we can go and see the world together! I will help sister Aster find all the sweets in the world!"

Ahhhhh! How can you be so cute! To think she would even offer to help me in my dream of finding sweets! She\'s a girl after my own heart!

I patted her head, "In that case, Odeta will have to grow big and strong so that I can take you with me to explore the world, ok?"

She did a guts pose, "It\'s a promise!"

"Ahahaha! What happened to wanting to become a top class Mercenary, Odeta?!" A voice laughed behind us.

The two of us turned to see Ardi standing there with the carcass of a bear slung over her shoulder. With the two of us off training, Ardi had gone off to hunt by herself for our dinner today.

As expected of an Amrap, even the bears around here were smaller in size as compared to her. Would Odeta grow to become as big as her in the future?

Hopefully… She\'ll also have a nice set of chocolate abs too… Heh.

Odeta raised her hands, "I\'ll become a top class Mercenary like sister Ardi and protect sister Aster!"

Ardi grinned at her answer before turning to me, "So, is Aster aiming to become an Adventurer?"

I almost said yes until I remembered that the Adventurers here are basically archaeologists.

I shook my head, "Not exactly. I\'m not aiming to explore and document ruins for the sake of archaeological research, I just want to see the world with my own eyes and explore what it has to offer. Although I do intend to join the Guild as a Dungeoneer in the future as well."

"Ha! Let me guess, you have your sights set on Dungeon City, don\'t ya?"

I nodded.

Ardi\'s smile widened, "Heeeeh~ I suppose with the fact that you can pretty much solo a wyvern, there\'s not much you need to worry about in the dungeon huh?"

I tilted my head, "Is there no one else that can do that? Surely there are people stronger than me out there right?"

"Ahaha! That may be true but they are few and far between. We wouldn\'t need people like my Mercenary group to hunt a wyvern if such strength is commonplace."

Huh… So that means that the other Off-Worlders are either still hiding their strength or there aren\'t many of us who are out exploring the world and gaining strength.

Perhaps everyone else just decided to start a farm and live an easy life instead?

I briefly considered asking them if they knew about Off-Worlders but decided to hold off on that for now. I don\'t exactly want to reveal the fact that I am one right now in case it ruins my relationship with them.

I know, I know, I shouldn\'t be keeping such secrets from them… But this is my first time having siblings you know?

"Speaking of which, are you planning to make your own party?" Ardi asked.

"You mean a party for exploring the dungeon?"

"Yeah, you could probably even go to Dungeon City right now if you want. If you intend to start a party to hunt together, I can introduce some sisters of mine that wouldn\'t mind joining up with ya. As much as I want to join you as well, I\'m not ready to hand over my Mercenary group yet."

Odeta perked up but before she could say anything, Ardi had shook her head at her, "No, you can\'t join either, Odeta. Your training isn\'t even completed and you\'re not an adult yet, I won\'t allow it."

The younger Amrap pouted at her sister but Ardi showed no signs of changing her mind.

I giggled, "It\'s fine, I\'m not going there anytime soon, at least not for a few years at least. I\'ll be enrolling as a student in Aerialla Academy."

Ardi widened her eyes at me, "You are proficient in magic as well?!"

Ah… Seems like the cat\'s out of the bag… Although I suppose I could simply deny it and claim that I\'m going there to study mathematics or something. But well, I can just tell them a part of the truth for now.

"I can use a little of Electromancy," I explained, letting a current of electricity flow between my fingers with [Static Shock].

"Ha! I suppose you should be enrolling soon then? Most students would start when they\'re twelve so I suppose that\'s two more years for you? Perhaps you\'re going to the branch school in Crown Capital City within Lehcarouc Kingdom?"

I shrugged, "My mother is the one handling it so I\'m not sure of the details. Although I\'m not sure if I\'m actually going to enrol this year or wait until I\'m older."

Ardi smacked me on the shoulder, "In that case, we can find you there if we pass by in the future! This is great!"

Right as she said that, a loud rumbling sound came from Odeta\'s stomach. Ah, right, it\'s dinner time already.

"Ahaha! I suppose we should prepare to eat then!" Ardi laughed, walking off with the bear sill on her shoulders.

Well, it\'s good that we still have a chance of meeting up in the future even after they leave. I\'d be sad if I never saw them again.