My cute sister—dumb, dumber, and tsundere like a cat with raised fur—I’m asking what you’re doing here, not whether you’re happy, got it?

Alicia asked again, voice stretched like molasses, slowed like dusk. She feared Ling wouldn’t get it, so the words came out oddly skewed.

I get it, okay? I can talk, can’t I? Stop treating me like that “⑨” idiot, like a scarecrow in the wind.

“⑨… who even is that?”

Ling didn’t feed Alicia’s gossip itch about “⑨”; she let it slide, or the topic would drift like a leaf in a stream.

I’m just pondering life’s philosophy, like people who zone out on the toilet, thoughts drifting like steam in a bath.

So you mean you’re bored, letting thoughts wander like idle clouds?

Idiot sis! Don’t smear my philosophy like mud on jade!

Fine, fine—philosophy, philosophy. I won’t say you’re idle, picking lint from clouds.

Thinking she’d won the debate, Ling crossed her arms in proud display, showing off like a peacock.

Since you’re pondering philosophy, tell me—what’s on your mind? Is life all lollipops like a candy rain, or something else?

Not those tacky things! I’m thinking, like a lantern flickering before dawn…

Ling paused, shut her eyes, then opened them; her gaze turned from springwater clear to moonlit sharp.

I’m pondering… who I am, where I stand, and what breakfast will be, like smoke curling off tea.

Thwack—!! Like a thunderclap in a clear sky.

As expected, a hand chop. Ling was lying down, so it fell on her forehead like a leaf, sharp as a paper blade.

Speak human, or I’ll give you another chop, cold as dawn frost.

Whimper~ I wasn’t thinking much at all, just mind-wandering like bubbles rising in soup.

Only in moments like this does the little one admit idle drifting; otherwise she’d spar “philosophy” with Alicia till dawn, like crows calling at night.

Alicia let out a long sigh like wind through reeds, then rolled down beside Ling, ignoring the dirt like a stubborn earth stain.

Go on, tell your sister—what does that little head spin on, besides eat, drink, play, sleep, like a hamster wheel?

Ling pouted, lips curled like a crescent, and didn’t deny her brain was a lunchbox of pleasures.

I was just wondering—how long since I met you, sis, like counting rings in a tree?

Four months, three days, nine hours—beads on an abacus clicking.

Uh…

Ling tossed the question casually, not expecting Alicia to nail it, like a dart ringing a bell.

A tiny sting pricked her pride, like a thorn under silk. Since Alicia keeps time so clearly, should I gift her something daily as a keepsake? Otherwise I feel I’ve lost ground, like sand slipping.

Well, whatever—four months is four months. Come to think of it, we swept the nonhuman races in under four months, like a storm over plains.

A warm spark rose in her chest, like a firefly: should I be a little proud?

Less than four months to lead the world’s races—if that spreads, will new titles flap like banners?

World Overseer, like a crown of frost?

Great Sage, like a cloud on a mountain?

Or King of the World, like thunder on a cliff?

I know what you’re thinking—no titles, no prizes. Your reward, silly sister, is me, your super-cool elder, like shade under a pine.

Ling stuck out her tongue, a kitten flick, signaling her dislike of Alicia’s self-love, then let the matter drift like smoke.

Hey, sis—if one day I couldn’t recognize you, couldn’t remember you, what would you do? The words moved like fog over water.

The topic veered suddenly, like a bird cutting away from the flock.

But Alicia squinted, serious, thinking it through like a hunter under moonlight.

If that’s how it is, I’ll find you again and be your sister anew, like lighting a lantern twice in the same night.

Her heart tightened like a knot; Ling opened her mouth, no sound drifted out, then let it close like a shell.

Did something happen, Ling? Otherwise why this question, like a needle catching on cloth?

Meh… I said I’m just thinking nonsense, asking whatever drifts up like leaves in a stream. Why make it a storm?

Really—like a spark testing tinder?

Really. Sis, you worry too much, like clouds piling up for nothing.

I hope so. If anything happens, tell your sister. If that pretty boy wrongs you, I’ll pound him, fists like thunderheads.

Alicia clenched her fists and gave them a little swing, iron and fire in her face, a promise you could believe like steel.

A mix of warmth and exasperation rose like tea and smoke; Ling didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She had no taste for men, none; no “pretty boy” would linger by her, not long. If one dared, her fist would fly first, like a hawk’s dive.

Warmth pooled in her chest like sunlight on rice; Ling didn’t push away Alicia’s kindness, and she wasn’t blind to it.

Meh… I almost forgot my purpose, like a thread slipping through fingers.

Alicia pushed herself up from the ground and patted her back, dust puffing like chalk clouds that might not leave.

No one’s fighting you for the bathroom now; go wash, let the steam call you like mist.

Alicia’s reminder pulled a small laugh from Ling, a hand hiding it, a single chime like a tiny bell, gone without echoes.

What’s funny? Are we going or not, like a tug on your sleeve?

She reached out a hand to Ling, offered like a branch, asking her to rise and head back.

Ling didn’t take it; instead she opened both slender arms like vines reaching.

Carry me back~ like a sleepy cat wanting a lift.

Alicia paused, stunned; such sober cuddling was rare, like spotting a comet once in a decade.

But her body moved before thought, like a river finding its bed; when awareness returned, the little one was nestled in her arms.

Mua~

Warm and soft brushed her cheek, like a petal landing; something pressed and bloomed against her face.

Before she could savor it, the softness slipped away like a firefly’s flick.

Sis, let’s go~ like a breeze nudging a door.

Meh… fine. Sky wide, earth broad—my sister rules, like moonlight overruling the night~