In the next instant after freezing time for herself, Ristia sensed that the Crystal Cage was shattering. Regardless of how much time had actually passed in the outside world before her release, since time was frozen for her, it all felt as though it happened in a second. Having realized that fact, Ristia deliberately sat herself down in a slow manner, all for one vital reason.
It was because slowly sitting down made for a more appealing look.
However, in her mind, she was madly excited. Ristia sensed that her seal had been broken in a natural way. That basically meant that her little sister who broke the seal was potentially right before her. Filled with expectations, Ristia slowly opened her crimson eyes.
Standing there was an enchanting, adorable—no, in fact, an absolutely adorable girl with long chestnut hair and green eyes. She had a slightly scared expression as she looked down at Ristia.
A-A little sister! No doubt about it, she’s my cute little sister! Yay, a little sister! My first little sister! Yay, she’s so cute! She’s cute as a button~! Ristia thought, overjoyed and giddy, knowing that if her family were around, they’d interject, “Blast it, child, you’re far cuter!” She then was about to get up and go give her presumed little sister a hug, but... she stopped still just before she did. She realized that a distinguished older sister shouldn’t be doing anything childish in front of her little sister. Ristia smiled at her presumed little sister with a composed expression.
“Pleased to meet your acquaintance. You must be my little sister,” she spoke in a dignified tone with an elegant smile on her face. She was doing a perfect job of acting how a kind older sister should. Now I’m a big sister! Ristia thought to herself. However...
“Th-The mannequin talked—?!” The girl’s reaction wasn’t quite what Ristia had expected.
“Um, pardon, but.... what are you talking about? I am no doll.”
“O-Oh, you’re not?”
“I am not. Or do you happen to know of any mannequins that speak like this?”
“Well, no... I don’t.”
“As I expected.” Ristia nodded in a satisfied manner, clearing her throat. “Well then, once again from the top.”
“Huh? From the what?” Her presumed little sister was befuddled at her words, but Ristia cleared her throat with an adorable little ahem. Sitting on her knees, she looked up at her presumed sister and elegantly smiled.
“Pleased to meet your acquaintance. You must be my little sister.”
“N-No, I’m not.”
“......Huh? Y-You’re not?” Ristia asked her presumed sister with the intentions of a fresh start, but she was denied, which unsettled her.
“Um... yes. My name is Nanami. I am not your little sister.”
“N-No way~...” The image of a refined and kindly older sister was but a fleeting memory now. Ristia took a dip in her mood so hard that anyone watching would be sympathetic as she slumped onto the diamond shard-covered floor. She could hear a squabble going on as she did. A man asked, “Hey, why didn’t you pretend to be her little sister?!” and the girl replied, “I couldn’t tell such an obvious lie.” Nevertheless, Ristia was in a slump, and it barely tripped her attention. Ristia started fiddling around with a diamond shard with her finger.
“Wait, you’ll certainly hurt yourself if you touch those shards!” A flustered Nanami pulled up Ristia’s upper body. Nanami’s behavior seemed like that of a busybody little sister worrying over her older sister.
“Um, are you sure there’s no chance of you being my little sister?”
“...Oh, erm... I’m sorry.”
“...What a flop,” Ristia said, literally flopping over in disappointment. Her prim face, contorted with sadness, was enough to stimulate the parental instincts in anyone who looked at it. It was hard to explain why—maybe it was the extreme expressiveness, or maybe it was just conveyed as being too much to handle. Although, things like that were probably why her parents and older sisters would always coddle and shower her with affection.
“Hey, what’s with the dilly-dallying and chit-chat?!” Suddenly, a coarse voice resounded. Ristia had been so infatuated with the prospect of a little sister that the middle-aged man hadn’t even registered in her eyes, yet there he stood in the room.
He seems to be about... the same age as Father. A few millennia old, perhaps? Ristia, not realizing that the both of them were humans, thought to herself, misinterpreting the situation. Of course, upon inspecting them with a more level head, she should have known that they weren’t True Bloods, but... Ristia had nothing but thoughts of her little sister in her head. He’s not younger than me. Heck, he isn’t even a girl, thought Ristia as she once again shut the man out of her mind. She then started thinking about her next moves.
In truth, she already knew the reason why she was awakened despite the lack of a little sister. She never expected that anyone other than relatives of hers would come to visit this labyrinth, so she set up the seal so that it could be broken by anyone so long as they were a girl younger than herself. She had to launch a countermeasure to this... Then again, maybe she could get away without one. After all, people rarely came here, and stopping time for herself was an all too simple matter for her. Ristia then stood up and started to reconstruct her Crystal Cage.
“Hey, don’t you ignore us! Hey, Nanami, do something!”
“Eek!”
The man yelled at Nanami, causing her to jump in fear. With that drawing her attention, Ristia looked over to Nanami.
“Um, Nanami, was it? Nanami, are you in a bind of some kind?”
“Huh? Wh-Why do you think that?”
“I mean... I can see you shivering.”
“O-Oh, well... erm...”
“If you’re in a bind, I can help you out.” She wasn’t her little sister, but it didn’t change the fact that Nanami was cute. It was inevitable that Ristia, a fan of all things cute, was interested in Nanami. However, despite Ristia asking her in a kind manner, Nanami was still shivering.