Chapter 88: Little Sister’s Bottom
The old coot had kept his promise, more or less. Nearly two hours later, minus ten minutes, he returned Noia’s body to the sisters’ room.
“See that? Your Highnessness speaks, and dragons listen.”
“Heh… how do I know you’re not just messing with me?”
Noia wasn’t buying it. “It’s like when you borrow money from someone. First time, you borrow 100 gold coins, and you pay it back. Second time, 200 coins, and you pay that back too. Third time, you borrow 1,000 coins, and they lend it to you because they trust you, and then you just run off with the cash.”
“Insolence! Comparing this Dragon Majesty to a scoundrel! My word is law, and I owe no one!”
Noia snorted, keeping up her verbal sparring match with the wily old dragon.
Once they got to the sisters’ room, they gently pressed down on the door handle, tiptoed inside, and then carefully shut the door, trying not to wake their two younger sisters who were still asleep.
After closing the door, the Ancestor said, “Alright, then. I’ll return control of the body to you.”
“Hmm.”
Noia started slipping off her shoes and regained control of her body. But the moment she turned around, everything went pitch black—like someone had slipped a black sack over her head.
Panicking, Noia began to defend herself, but then she felt a sudden, heavy blow to the head. The surprise attack was enough to drain her energy instantly. Even the toughest young dragon can’t resist a sneak attack, and Noia was no exception.
As she lost consciousness, she thought she heard two familiar voices.
“If I’m wrong, Little Sister, then when our sister wakes up, she’s going to punish us real bad.”
“Don’t worry, Big Sister. Trust me.”
Noia slowly closed her eyes, mumbling, “What are these dimwits up to…”
After who-knows-how-long, Noia woke up to find the room’s light on. But the window showed only pitch darkness outside, with a faint glow of moonlight. Clearly, dawn was still a ways off.
Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, Noia glanced down and noticed she was sitting on a chair. Attempting to move her arms, she discovered her wrists were tied to the chair with ropes she couldn’t break free from.
She struggled a bit, but the ropes were snug, making her skin feel slippery. Squinting her eyes, Noia looked up to see her adorable little sisters.
“Little Light, Moon… what do you think you’re doing?”
Moon took a step forward and lifted her sister’s face with a serious expression, saying, “Sister, you’ve suffered long enough.”
Noia: ?
“What does that mean?”
“Little Light thinks you might not be our real sister anymore, so tonight, we have to test this theory,” Moon replied.
Noia blinked. What in the world was Moon talking about? ‘You might not be our real sister anymore’—who else could she possibly be?
Just as she was about to ask, Noia realized something. Perhaps her little sister, in all her nosy glory, noticed something odd when the Ancestor had taken over her body. Little Light was always in the thick of things—Dad even called her a natural-born troublemaker. And to be a troublemaker, one must have sharp eyes. Little Light had a keen sense of observation.
So, it wasn’t impossible she noticed something unusual when the Ancestor was controlling her body.
“Hey, kid, your little sisters are sharp,” the Ancestor noted inside her mind.
“Sharp is one thing, but what did you do with my body that set them off?”
“Hmph, my disguise is flawless. How could I be caught?”
“Then how do you explain all this?”
The old coot was momentarily speechless, quickly changing the subject, “Best your family doesn’t find out about me. It could cause unnecessary trouble. The priority now is to convince your sisters.”
Noia agreed—she didn’t want her parents to know either. Just imagine their worry if they found out she had an ancestor living in her head.
She decided to handle this herself first, just like she always did. If she couldn’t, then she’d turn to Mom and Dad for help.
Shaking her head again to focus, Noia faced her sisters with a warm smile.
“It’s me, your sister. Always has been.”
As she said that, Noia twisted her wrists, then put on her best pitiful puppy-dog eyes. “This rope really hurts, Moon. Can you untie me?”
Little Moon blinked her big watery eyes. “Sis…”
“C’mon, Moon, untie me, please~”
“Sister~”
“Mm, good girl Moon~”
“No.”
Noia was taken aback at the firmness in her sister’s voice. Moon’s little pigtails stood upright as she declared, “Since the ropes might hurt you, I coated them with aloe vera, ensuring they don’t chafe your skin while still keeping you tied up.”
Ah, so that slippery feeling was aloe vera. Noia wasn’t sure whether to compliment Moon’s thoughtfulness or be unnerved by her thoroughness.
Fine, if kindness didn’t work, it was time for toughness.
If she tried too hard to explain herself, it might make her seem guilty instead.
Noia knew Little Light was smart, the pink-haired little devil always had tricks up her sleeve.
“Moon, Little Light, if you don’t untie me, when I break free, your bottoms are gonna get it.”
At this threat, the youngest princess smirked, crossing her arms and said, “That won’t work, Big Sister. Those ropes have an anti-magic property.”
“Anti-magic?…”
Noia tried to cast a lightning spell, but her magic circuits felt sealed, completely unresponsive.
“Give it up, Sister. I told you, these ropes block magic.”
“Where did you get anti-magic gear?”
“From Mom and Dad’s room.”
Little Light explained, “I’ve been planning this operation ever since I noticed you acting weird. It took me a while, but I finally found something suitable in their room.”
Pausing for a moment, she asked herself, “I wonder why they even had anti-magic ropes…”
Noia’s eye twitched.
So that was the rope Mom and Dad were looking for earlier. But why would their room have such stuff in the first place? Could it be related to the couple’s… bondage games?
“Alright, the ropes aren’t important. What matters is figuring out what’s wrong with you, Sister, before it’s too late,” Little Light said seriously.
Before Noia could protest, the old dragon Ancestor burst out, “Possession by ghosts?! What nonsense! Lodged within your mind is my noble spirit!”
Whoa, touchy.
But don’t worry. Being touchy won’t help.
Noia ignored that and tried again to reason with her siblings.
“I haven’t been possessed. I’ve just been… distracted lately. Give me a few days, and I’ll be back to normal.”
“Everyone who’s possessed says that. I’ve done my research.”
“…”
“So, Sister, I’ve prepared a professional ghost-busting kit!”
Before Noia could stop her, Little Light pulled out all sorts of bizarre tools—bells, candles, mirrors, and who-knows-what-else.
“C’mon, this is unnecessary, right?” the eldest sister sighed.
“Absolutely necessary for your mental health.”
“…”
Little Light handed the bell to Moon. “Alright, Moon, let’s begin.”
“Yup!”
“You… what are you two planning?”
Dingaling~ Dingaling~
The bell rang out as both little dragon girls began to circle Noia. They placed a circle of candles around her.
As they circled, they chanted:
“Evil spirits, go away~ Evil spirits, go away~”
Moon & Little Light: 〜(￣△￣〜)
Noia & Noah: (;￣ー￣川
After about seven times seven circles—well, probably not that many, as Moon started feeling dizzy by the twentieth circle—the siblings stopped.
Little Light set down the bell and leaned in close, examining her sister’s face.
“Feel anything, Sister?”
“A sudden urge to laugh.”
“Not cured, continue!”
“…”
“Uh-oh, Little Light, I’m feeling dizzy (´Д｀).”
Moon lay sprawled out on the carpet, waving the bell in her hand. “Let’s change tactics.”
“Alright,” Little Light nodded.
Next, the pink-haired girl grabbed the life-sized mirror beside her and stood it in front of Noia.
“What now?” Noia asked.
“A sacred spirit-repelling mirror.”
“You made that name up, didn’t you.”
“No way! That’s exactly what the book said!”
As Little Light held up the mirror with one hand on her hip, Moon poked her head into the frame and said cheerfully:
“Look at the cutest little dragon ever!”
“Quit messing around, Moon.”
“Aww.”
Moon stepped back.
Noia sighed and cooperated. “I just see myself. No ghosts.”
“Do you feel uncomfortable?”
“No.”
“Feel guilty?”
“No.”
“Whoa~”
Little Light ran her fingers through her hair in exasperation. “This doesn’t make sense! Did I really misjudge it?”
At this, Moon hesitated for a second, then quickly shielded her bottom.
“Sister, if you end up spanking us, can you go easy on us?”
Noia stared at Moon, then said calmly, “That was just my way of teasing you. You’re my little sisters, how could I possibly spank you?”
“Really, Sister?”
“Yes, really.”
“Alright then, Little Light, hurry up and untie Sister. She’s obviously not possessed.”
Although Little Light still had a million questions, all their ghost-busting methods hadn’t worked. So, it had to be that her sister wasn’t possessed.
But how to explain her previous strange behavior?
Deciding to table this for now and pretend that everything was alright, Little Light would keep an eye out for clues.
“Okay, let’s untie her.”
The dragon girls freed Noia from the anti-magic ropes. Stretching and sighing in relief, Noia rubbed her wrists. Taking the towel Moon handed her, she wiped the aloe vera from her skin.
“Hehe, sister, Moon knows you really are the best sister ever~”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Sister, you have to keep your promise~”
Noia raised an eyebrow. “What promise?”
Moon panicked, instinctively stepping back and wrapping her tail around her rear. “Umm… you promised not to spank me and Little Light.”
“Did I? I don’t remember.”
“NANI (ÒωÓ)?!”
Crack-crack—
Noia cracked her knuckles menacingly and began to approach her sisters. The younger dragon girls cowered together.
“Sister! You promised not to spank Moon!”
“Next time.”
“Alright, if we’re going down, let’s go together, right Little Light?—Little Light? Eh?”
As they looked back, the pink-haired dragon had bolted for the door.
“Where are you going, Little Light?”
“Big Sister, you know the rule: every dragon for themselves!”
“Relax, I’ll get you both.”
…
At the Melkway family breakfast.
Leon looked puzzled at his two daughters standing while eating.
“Moon, Little Light, why are you eating standing up?”
“Be-because of our bottoms—” Moon stammered.
“Because standing is healthier for digestion!” Little Light quickly interrupted.
“Is that so…”
Leon shrugged it off and continued eating.
“Hey, Dad, where’s Mom?”
“Oh, she finished early and said she’d meet me in the front yard later for something.”
“Oh.”
Speaking of which, that mother dragon seemed so energetic this morning. No one would guess she was up to something. If she wanted him in the front yard…what could it be?
