“Keh, keh heh heh... looks I was right in thinking this was an Artifact. In that case, the reason you didn’t die before was because you’re hiding a different Artifact on you. That’s gotta be it,” Gawain stated with a shrill cackle. Gawain had, of course, caught on to Ristia’s abnormal nature, but since he wasn’t strong enough to just accept reality for what it was, he was trying to give a more convenient explanation for himself. “From what I see, you don’t have any kind of jewelry on you, so that rules that out. And judging from your reaction a minute ago... Yeah, now I get the picture. Your dress is the Artifact.”
“My dress? Well, it is enchanted.”
“Keheh, so I was right. In that case... strip, unless you want me to kill you.” The middle-aged man was attempting to get the adorable young maiden’s clothes off her. This had turned into a full-blown dilemma. Ristia didn’t really feel anything from the line he delivered, however. On the contrary, she figured, So if I hand over my clothes, maybe that will convince him that I really am a normal girl? But that had to wait.
“Sorry, but that will have to come later. Right now, seeing to Nanami’s wounds comes first,” she declared over her shoulder while sitting in front of Nanami. Ristia had been asserting that she was a normal girl because she didn’t want Nanami to be frightened of her, but all of that would be pointless if Nanami were to die on her. Prioritizing Nanami was the obvious choice.
“Quit screwing with me! No way in hell I’m giving you the time to do that! Off with the dress! Now!”
“I just told you that I would remove it if you’d just be patient, did I not?”
“Tch! If that’s how it’s gonna be... I’ll just have to get it off you by force.” Gawain settled into a stance with the rapier, holding it at hip height. Reacting to his intent to attack, the rapier activated the ability it was enchanted with, causing Gawain’s physical abilities to skyrocket.
“Have a taste of my newly-obtained power, bitch!” Gawain shouted, swinging the rapier at full force. It was nowhere near the level it had been when Ristia wielded the blade, but the attack was still imbued with mana nonetheless—an attack that was directed right at Ristia. But that was when it happened...
Just as soon as Gawain made his strike with the rapier, Ristia put a spell of her own into action. The Level Four offensive magic that Ristia deployed engulfed Gawain’s attack... along with Gawain himself, incinerating his entire body without so much as leaving a single speck of soot behind. The only thing that remained were the echoes of Gawain’s final cries reverberating throughout the expansive floor.
“Okie dokie, that’s squared away.”
Ristia had just wiped a human being off of the face of the planet, yet she showed not an ounce of sentiment or care as she once again turned herself toward Nanami. Nanami was bleeding out profusely. Her face was already pale and almost lifeless. She was on the fast track to death’s door. As those thoughts coursed through her mind, she reached out to Nanami, until...
“D-Don’t touch me!”
“Whuh?!”
Nanami so bluntly shooting her down despite her labored breathing was a huge blow to Ristia. It was such a huge shock, in fact, she found herself kneeling down on the floor in despair. U-Ughhh... I can’t believe Nanami hates me now. This shakes me to my very core~! Maybe erasing that guy was a mistake? But I was afraid that if I didn’t act fast, Nanami would die... I mean, if I don’t act fast, Nanami will die. I don’t want her to hate me even more than she probably already does, but it’s better than having her die! Ristia thought to herself as she mustered what little remnants of mental fortitude she had left and reached over to Nanami.
“S-Stay back. Stay back!”
“I’m sorry. You must be terrified. But try to contain your fear a bit, okay? I’m going to heal your wounds for you.”
“...Huh? Y-You intend to heal... my wounds?”
“Mm-hmm, that’s just what I’m going to do.” To Ristia, humans weren’t much different from any other animal. If it was cute, then she’d dote over it. If it was just minding its business, she would not put her hands on it. And if it posed a threat to her wellbeing, she would fight back without mercy. That was her mindset.
Right now, this younger girl absolutely fell into the ’wanting to dote over’ category for Ristia.
“So on that note, do you mind if I use magic?” she asked kindly. Hope formed in Nanami’s once scared and forlorn eyes.
“Please... help... me...”
“Yup, just leave it to me.”
Now that she had consent, Ristia placed her hand over Nanami’s gaping wound and cast the most powerful healing spell she was capable of, a Level Eight regeneration magic. A divine light wrapped around Nanami as her wound was instantly cauterized. But that wasn’t the only thing it did. It also removed any abnormalities in her body and replaced the blood she lost. In addition, it removed any smudges or specks on her clothes and strengthened her dainty body. Before long, the light returned to Nanami’s dimmed and unfocused eyes, and her complexion was even better than normal.
“W-Whoa...” Nanami started to check her body with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Well? Are you nice and healed?”
“Y-Yes. Everything... Everything is healed. Even the scars I’ve had since my childhood. Positively everything. Also, my body feels extraordinarily lighter now.”
“Great, that’s wonderful news~” Ristia celebrated as if it were for herself, and once Nanami caught sight of that, her cheeks started to flush.
“Erm... um, thank you very much. Uh, for saving my life, that is!”
“Mm-mm, you needn’t thank me.” So long as you’ll adore me as your loving older sister, then that’s thanks enough! Ristia thought, but she naturally didn’t say so out loud. There was no point to any of this if she was having her call her ’Big Sis’ out of obligation over a favor. She wanted Nanami to call her ‘Big Sis’ of her own free will. That was how she wanted things to work out.