Chapter 15: Sierra Sighting.

Night. Sierra was alone in her room.
Getting injured on the very first day had been an eventful start, but more importantly, she had made her first friend.
She flipped open the 《Normie Notebook》 Ainz had given her.

『Rule Five: Once you make a friend, treasure them.』

The notebook was full of all sorts of things, most of which Sierra still didn’t fully understand.
But it really did say that.

“How do you treasure someone…?”

She pondered.
Ainz had called her his precious daughter.
He had only started saying that recently.
She closed the notebook with a soft clap and looked out the window.
The academy grounds were rich with nature; a comfortable place for Sierra to live.

“…They said there are days off too, so maybe I’ll explore a bit when I have time.”

She wanted to see what was around the academy.
Normally, Sierra and Ainz would secure the area around wherever they planned to sleep.
But here, there were no monsters or hostile humans to worry about.

“…That actually feels kind of unsettling.”

If anything, her hobby was fighting.
Even though she had been put on the defensive, the fact that someone other than her father had managed to injure her had left her slightly excited.
It was her first time learning something from anyone else.
Arna had told her it wasn’t something to be happy about, though.

“…Right, I need to practice my sword.”

It was practically a daily routine.
Before, she had trained every day with her father. Now she was alone.
And there was the very first rule written in the Normie Notebook: 『Never go all-out』.
She still had no idea why he wrote that, but she intended to follow it.

“Practicing while holding back… might be hard.”

Muttering to herself, Sierra headed for the rooftop.
Someone was already there.

“…Arna?”

Her voice didn’t reach Arna.
Under the moonlight, Arna was concentrating deeply.

“Fuuu…”

With a long exhale, mana gathered in her hands.
From the magic square forming, Sierra immediately understood.

(《Weapon Materialization》…?)

It was the same technique Sierra used: condensing mana into a solid form.
Maintaining it required intense focus.
Arna’s breathing was already ragged just from manifesting it.

“Haa… fuu…”

(…She’s going to fail.)

The moment Sierra thought that, the mana in Arna’s hands dispersed into mist.
She must have been practicing for a long time; her concentration looked completely spent.

“…This isn’t good enough…”

“What are you doing?”

“! Sierra-san… you were here?”

“Yep.”

Sierra walked over.
In front of her, Arna tried to act calm.

“You really like the rooftop, don’t you?”

“It’s normal, but it feels nice here. Practicing magic?”

“Something like that.”

Arna answered evasively. Sierra continued,

“I was about to practice too.”

“! You too?”

“Yeah, let’s—”

“You were told to rest today, remember?”

Sierra had been about to suggest practicing together, but Arna cut her off.

“Right?”

“Don’t play dumb! You’re supposed to be resting in your room.”

Sierra got scolded again.
She looked away slightly.

“I’m already fine.”

“No self-diagnosis! You’re coming back to the room with me, understood?”

No matter what she said, Arna wouldn’t budge.
Unintentionally, Sierra muttered,

“…Arna, you’re more dad-like than Dad.”

“Could you at least say mom-like…?”

“I don’t really know my mom.”

“! …Well, dad-like is fine then.”

Answering Sierra’s words, Arna grabbed her hand and dragged her off the rooftop.

“You’re injured—how are you handling baths?”

“…Baths?”

Sierra reacted as if she’d just learned such a thing existed.
Arna gave her a flat stare.

“That reaction means… you didn’t bathe yesterday either?”

“…I was injured.”

“You weren’t injured yesterday! Goodness… I’m washing you myself. We’re going to the grand bath.”

Half-forced, Sierra was dragged off by Arna toward the baths.