After the shock with Erina's luggage, Lanie and David were in a trance, with the first saying "Rich people are really from another world!" And the last one saying "I shouldn't be surprised, I've been working here for years... what a shame...". With these lines it was already possible to see that Lanie was a newbie, while David was already an experienced employee. When John offered to help us carry the bags, the employees got out of their trance and were also ready to help as well.

With the help of the three, Erina and I were taken to our rooms. That's right, rooms in the plural. That explained the size of the bedrooms, the rooms were individual. Erina and I had two rooms on the first floor. Each room had a bed, nightstand, chest of drawers, closet, curtains, folding screen, desk with chair, shelves. With the basics already provided, the decoration would be at the discretion of the student. For me, the rooms were a good size - considering that they are single rooms, I expected them to be cubicles -, but for Erina, whose room in the family mansion was larger than a classroom for a hundred people, those rooms were small. She would have to think of another way to keep all her belongings.

After we received the keys and put the luggage in the rooms, John took us for a walk through the commercial district. When John proposed the walk and we stepped our foot out of the dorm, Erina quickly crossed her arm with his, gluing her body to his. This is getting out of hand! I'll have to put a limit on that!

“Erina, don’t treat my brother as if he was your butler!”

“No need to worry”, John tried to reassure me, “I'm not uncomfortable, so there's no need to scold her.”

John, dear brother, you are too naive for your age! The girl who is nesting in your arm is far from being an innocent maiden!

“Brother, she's my friend. You don't have to treat her like that just because she has money!”

“And that's exactly why I don't mind.”

“Huh?”

Both Erina and I look at him, confused.

“She's your friend and she makes you happy. Being a member of high society must be difficult. As much as you have so much money, there is always a concern to maintain a perfect image. That's why I want to make her comfortable, so that she will always comes to stay with you. Therefore I don't mind.”

“John...”, Erina sighed, her eyes were shining and she took the hand from her free arm to her lips, like a maiden in love.

That's it. Now she won’t give up on him.

“Brother”

“Yes?”

“You are too much of good person.”

With his free hand, John head-patted me and also gave me a warming smile.

“You don't have to praise me! Just knowing that you will be in good company already makes me happy!”

I WASN'T PRAISING! When I said he was too much of a good person, I was giving him a worried smile, but he didn't understand! It was like I said before, he is unable to see any malice in Erina.

Without me even expecting, John extended his forearm that was free to me, signalling me to cross my arm with his. I don't know why he's doing this - maybe I was a little pale - but I thought it was better to accept the offer so I wouldn’t give the impression that I was upset with him. And so the three of us went to the commercial district, Erina and I leaning on each arm of John.

Arriving in the district, Erina and I were able to see better the shops we had seen by the sly. As it was not yet time for lunch, the three of us could take a look at the establishments. Erina was the one who decided where we would go first, when her eyes caught the sight of a beautiful dress in the window of a boutique. The moment she saw the piece of clothing, she ran to the store, consequently letting go of John's arm. How ironic! She made a point of holding on to John and, at the first sign of distraction, forgot about him.

Obviously, John and I followed Erina into the boutique. Its name was Silk Shine. Despite its name, the store also sold clothes of other fabrics. Next to the door we entered, was the exhibition showcase, in which mannequins positioned in front of elegant purple curtains exhibited attractive outfits to attract buyers into the establishment. The floor of the store was made of wood, as was the lower half of the wall. The upper half of the wall was made of beige bricks. Distributed by the boutique, there were clothes maws and shelves presenting different types and colours of shoes, as well as mannequins dressed in the most popular costumes of the moment. Next to the cashier, there were some fitting rooms of purple curtains.

While we followed the Erina’s rhythm, the store attendant approached the three of us. He was a man with brown hair combed on the side, wore rounded-rimmed glasses and dressed very well.

“Good morning! How can I help you?”, He greeted us politely.

“We're just taking a look”, I answered.

“Right”, he nodded, “If you need anything, I'll be next to the cashier”, and then withdrew.

Then I felt something take my arm and pull me hard. It was Erina, who had pulled me to a corner of the store on the pretext of showing me something. She took her hand close to her mouth, so that John could not read her lips, and whispered with the greatest excitement:

“Glasses!”

“Huh?” I asked, confused.

“The attendant wears glasses!”

“And what is it important?”

“Did you like him?”

My frown frowned in response.

“... You're making fun of me.”

Erina laughed at my reaction and quickly had her focus directed to a dress that seemed to be expensive. With nothing to do, I went to John, who was looking analytically at a mannequin dressed from the men's section. He seemed to be stuck in his own thoughts to notice that I approached.

“... This one would look fine...”, he murmured to himself.

“Are you going to take this one?”

Listening to me, John turned around with an impressive speed.

“I-I was just looking...”, He justified himself, scratching the back of his neck. I swear I saw a slight blush on his cheeks. Would he be embarrassed? There’s no reason to! What's wrong with me seeing him interested in clothes?!

Looking beyond me, John saw something that pleased him. Passing by me, he went to a table that had heads of mannequins that had hats and took one. It was a long-brimmed light blue hat, tied by a purple ribbon. Next to the ribbon, there was a small cluster of dark purple spheres that reminded me of jabuticabas.

“What do you think?”, John asked me.

“I think it’s beautiful”, I replied.

“I think it would be good on you! Why not take it?”

“... I don't think I'll have so many opportunities to wear this hat while I'm at school.”

John looked at his hat again and nodded, convinced. Even with my comment, he decided he would buy it for me. Does he insist because he now has a job? I've heard of people who want to gift their parents and family using their own money when they finally get a job. It must be the same case with John.

“Hey! Are you going to bring anything?”

John and I saw Erina running to us, hugging a piece of clothing close to her chest.

“I'm thinking of taking this hat to Amaris”, John replied.

“Hmmmmm...”, Erina tilted her head closer to the hat and analyzed it. Then she turned to evaluate me full body and, after looking at the hat again, she told me, “It will match your dress!”

“Thank you! And what are you going to buy?”, I asked.

“This pair of boots here”, She showed us a pair of white high boots with thin and black laces and brown soles, “We're already going to lunch, so I don't want to walk with several bags. But eventually I'll buy more.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“Let me take them to the cashier”, John offered, referring to the boots and the hat.

“Huhuhu, what a gentleman!”, Erina commented, willingly handing over the boots to John. After my brother withdrew and was far enough away, she approached me and whispered, “He grew up and became a quality man, don't you think?”

“... I can't disagree.”

“If you weren't his sister, you would be my rival in love, wouldn't you?”

“Don't cross the line, please.”

After John returned, he handed each of us a bag with our respective purchased piece. Erina then took a purse of money stored in a hidden pocket of her dress and took from it an amount of money equivalent to the price of the boots. At first, John refused the money, but Erina insisted until he finally gave in.

Then we went to the bookstore and looked at the volumes we found there. The owner of the bookstore, a lady in her early 40s, was very friendly and also a business woman with good speech. It was evident that she had many years of experience and lavished them with pride. She kept watching us, paying attention to our conversations and, when the moment of opportunity came, she approached and gave us recommendations. She recommended to Erina a romance novel by an author who focuses on this theme and, to me, recommended the first book in a suspense series. Sly woman! She did this to make sure we would come back to buy more in the future! Anyway, we bought the books. In addition, Erina was also looking around the store, hoping to find some student from the Academy, and, unfortunately, she did not find anyone. She will have to be patient and wait for the entry ceremony tomorrow.

Finally arriving at lunchtime, John took us to an establishment called "Balad: Restaurant and Accommodation". The ground floor, as the name already indicated, was the restaurant that sold meals such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts for customers and guests. On the first and second floors were the lodging rooms. The restaurant had tables with chairs well positioned on the floor, allowing the waiters to get around without difficulty. At the bottom, there was a long wooden counter, with the owner of the establishment behind, right next to the cashier. Also at the back of the establishment, there was a door that led to the kitchen and warehouse and only the employees could enter. Next to the wall was the staircase that led to the accommodations.

Erina, John and I sat at a table next to the window. In a short time, a waitress approached to write down our requests, addressing John with a certain familiarity. Probably, in his years as a student, my brother ate a lot here. After writing down our orders, the waitress withdrew and John started talking to me.

“So, how have things been for you lately?”

“Oh, it's been good! I was improving my spells and I also helped a lot in mom and dad's store, both in the making of potions and in the delivery of them around the city. But they hired an employee to make the deliveries and take care of the store when neither of them are present, so I'm having more free time and I'm taking the opportunity to read many novels! Oh, of course, I also spent some seasons with Erina at her family mansion and participated in social events and her training!”

John listened carefully, nodding his head sporadically to show that he was paying attention.

“And mom and dad, how are them? Is everything okay between you and them?”

“Mom and Dad are fine. They are healthy and are also always eagerly waiting for your letters! And everything is great between them and me, why wouldn't it be? What a strange question, brother!”

“Hehehehe...”, He laughed, scratching the back of his neck, but soon returned to the conversation and, this time, addressed Erina, “These trainings that Amaris does with you, Miss Erina... I've heard they're very strict.”

“It is true that I receive rigorous training, but Lovelia, my older sister and coach, adapted the exercise program for Amaris, so no matter how much we are training together, we are not doing the same thing at the same intensity.”

“That way I get less worried...”, John sighed.

At that moment, the waitress from before came back with a tray with our dishes, a jar of juice and three glasses. After serving us, the waitress withdrew and returned to serve the other customers. With our lunches in hand, we continued the conversation and, this time, I took the initiative.

“Big brother, even though you graduated last year, you continued here in Norwill and only went to become a teacher now. What have you been doing in the last year?”

John, who was about to put a bite of food in his mouth, gave up the action and looked at me and Erina with a serious look. I feel my heart beating harder in anticipation.

“As you may remember, from the letters I sent you, there were attacks by unusual monsters during my student period. Judging by the force and organization of the monsters, it was possible to reach the conclusion that they were attacks orchestrated by someone or a group. Unfortunately it was not possible to get to the root of the problem before my graduation, so after my graduation. I volunteered for the participation of a countermeasure. Or rather, I was recruited by my veteran who was already working on it since his graduation, Hugo Reignia.”

The name mentioned by my brother made Erina almost choke on the food. Without realizing it, Erina had gotten up from the chair in a jump and exclaimed, astonished:

“Hugo Reignia? The Modern Imperial Dragon himself?!”

In the past, there have been reports of a lineage of dragons powerful enough to put an empire at their mercy! That's where the name came from "Imperial Dragon". Currently, it is not known if they still exist. Or if they ever existed to begin with! But it is believed that Hugo Reignia is a distant descendant of this lineage, so he received the title of "Modern Imperial Dragon". But it's not like they had made a DNA test or something like that, so I can't confirm that. Personally, I would like to be friends with an imperial dragon, but this is a kind of dream too high for me, who is not even friends with an ordinary dragon!

John had mentioned to me about Hugo Reignia a few times in his letters. Hugo was a veteran who was two years ahead of my brother. John several times described him as a frightening lad who had a piercing look. At some point in John's first year at the Academy, he and Hugo met and, to the sadness of little 14-year-old John, Hugo saw something special in him and put him in his sights. And there was no way my brother could avoid it, not least because Hugo's little sister studied in the same class as him! Despite this uncomfortable first contact, John got used to Hugo's presence and lost his fear, so much so that in the most recent letters, he mentioned it in a casual way.

Returning to Erina, everyone in the room immediately looked at her when they heard her voice of surprise. I think that was an unprecedented vision for them: a noblewoman who had an unreachable appearance was now shocked. But even in fright, Erina still looked like a girl full of dignity and superiority. She really had an aura of an innate noble!

Seeing the unwanted looks, Erina quickly apologized to the audience and sat down again, in silence.

“I'm sorry”, She apologized again, this time to me and John.

“No need to apologize”, John reassured her, “But, answering your question, yes, it's him. As I had said, Hugo had recruited me to help with the countermeasure and I accepted. So I spent this last year doing missions, hunting monsters and performing tests.”

“Tests?”, Erina and I talked at the same time.

“That's right. Hugo told me to test everything that was possible: tactics, weapons, shields, potions, magical items, mechanical equipment.... And that's what I did the most in that time!”

“‘Mechanical equipment’?”, I asked.

“Does this mean that there is a possibility that the equipment we will use in the Academy has passed through your hand before?”

“I think so. But I'll tell you, you see: Hugo wasn't joking with those tests! It was always ‘Give it all and nothing less than that!’. If he thought he hadn't gotten enough data, he told me to do it again later.”

Erina sketched a hint of interest in the Hugo.

“So it means that Mr. Reignia is a perfectionist?”

“You can say that again! But he's a good man, so I don't care so much about him asking me to take the tests...”, John seemed like he was lost in his own words and it seemed that he would keep talking for hours, but suddenly, he seemed disconcerted and wanted to end the conversation soon, “Well, and-and now I'm a teacher too! Hehe. Please excuse me, I ended up talking too much, didn't I?”

I gestured with my hands that he didn't need to worry about it and told him:

“No sweat, brother! This moment is to catch up! Not least because, starting tomorrow, I will be studying and you will be working, so we will be busier.”

The mention of his work caused John's face, whose expression had already softened, to become serious again. He had remembered something he needed to say, but he didn't do it because he had gotten lost at the pleasant moment of our conversation.

“About your registration, Amaris, there is something I need to tell you”, he said, taking a sip of juice next, “For the sake of secrecy, you were enrolled in Avalon with a different surname.”

I was silent, the fork in my hand unable to reach my lips. I had no idea that I had been registered with another surname. Isn't that something to let you know in advance? Why did I only know now? And could they even do that, for starters?

John, seeing my reaction - or absence of one -, became nervous, getting ready to explain himself.

“Don't get it wrong! It's not that I was ashamed of you or anything like that! But we are siblings and I'm going to be a teacher at the school you study, so this can lead to some uncomfortable situations for both of us, that's why you were registered with your mother's maiden surname, Welimir, so that we hide our kinship.”

I had to hold back the laughter when I heard him trying to justify himself at first. He thought I believed he was ashamed to be seen with me. I hadn't even thought about it! I was just worried about the fact that I found out the last-minute last name change, but now I understand that John has no bad intentions.

“I understand you, brother. You don't want me to be pressured to give cheats to my classmates during exams because I'm your sister.”

“Exactly”, He nodded, in a serious voice, “I also fear that the other students will end up mistreating you for believing you are here because of nepotism.”

“And I wouldn't like your future admirers chasing me, asking questions like ‘Is he single?’, ‘What's his type?’ and ‘He doesn't mind having a younger girlfriend, does he?’”

“I-I don't think this will happen...”, John's serious voice waved and he scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed.

“I don't think so either...”, Erina murmured, like a jealous girlfriend. In response, I stared at her with a look that meant ‘I was referring to YOU too!‘

Even though he felt embarrassed in the end, John seemed to be calmer. Appearing to have already said everything he wanted to me, he began to look at Erina, making her cheeks quickly take on a pink colour.

“There's something I'd like to ask you, Miss Erina. Since I'm going to have to pretend that I'm not related to Amaris, I wanted you to protect her so that no funny guy gets close to her. I hope I'm not asking you too much!”

John's eyes were tender and his voice as soft as the best velvet in the world. He had an extremely passionate charm, the kind that you would be unable to deny him anything! And with that, Erina was surrendered and melted in John's hands.

“Not at all! It's not too much to ask. Since you asked so nicely, you can count on me! Your little sister is in good hands.”

“Thank you very much, Miss Erina! Now I'm so much calmer knowing that you're with her.”

This time, although it still sounds friendly, John's voice no longer had that charming and seductive softness. It doesn't seem to be involuntary... This means that he changed the tone of his voice on purpose for Erina to do whatever he wants! He seduced Erina just to get a favour from her! My dear brother, I know that you have grown up and are already a man, but I miss your lack of malice from when you were a child!