Helena saw Noah slowly approaching her, and based on the rules of the game, she had to avoid Noah as much as possible.
She slowly retreated, trying to lighten her footsteps and not make any sound.
But Noah was still slowly getting closer.
After a few steps back, Helena's back suddenly pressed against a tree trunk.
No more room to retreat.
And Noah was right in front of her.
Helena squinted her eyes and smiled, thinking, 'Looks like I'm going to get caught.'
Creak!
But just before Noah was about to catch Helena, the sound of a breaking branch suddenly came from behind Noah's side.
Noah's ears were sharp, and she immediately turned and quickly groped in the direction of the sound.
And the one who stepped on the branch was none other than Luna.
Naturally, Noah successfully caught her younger sister and hugged her tightly in her arms before removing the blindfold.
"Geez, Sis, you caught me first, how mean!"
Though she said "mean," her heart was blooming with joy.
Noah removed her blindfold and dotingly pinched her sister's nose, "Who told you to step on a branch?"
"Mm...", Actually, she didn't even know why there was suddenly a branch under her foot just now.
But whatever, as long as she could hug her sister, even if it were a steel bar, she could break it.
"Sis, you're amazing, hehe~", Luna leaned into Noah's embrace, rubbing against her cheek, her little tail wagging adorably.
And beside them, Little Light looked down at the few branches in her hand, then quietly hid them behind her back, 'Second Sis, remember, someone's always got your back in the shadows!'
———
After the ghost-catching game, the little dragon girls played some other games.
Most of them involved some physical contact.
Although Luna usually slacked off and was considered the mascot of the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, in order to successfully defend the tower, she was surprisingly clever this time.
She spent half the morning in Noah's arms.
Noah even considered whether they should all just sit down, she could hold Luna, Helena could hold Little Light, and just chat casually.
But in the end, she went along with Luna's wishes and accompanied her in playing various little games.
After lunch, because they had gotten up early and played all morning, fatigue and drowsiness began to set in. Luna tried to resist.
But she couldn't.
In the end, under Leon's coaxing, she returned to her room for a nap.
Little Light, seeing that there probably wouldn't be much fun at noon, went straight to her mom's private library to pass the time.
Noah and Helena didn't need rest. The two girls went back to the temple's rear garden, lying on the grass, enjoying the warm and pleasant midday sun.
"Noah."
"Hmm?"
"Your little sisters seem to like you a lot," Helena gazed at the clear, cloudless sky.
Her eye color matched the sky, deep azure blue.
"Yeah, especially Luna, she's clung to me since she was little," After a pause, Noah added, "But she's been acting a little strange these past two days… she's always clingy, but not this much."
Helena smiled and closed her eyes, speaking lazily, "But you still accepted it all without hesitation."
Noah curved her lips, "Of course, she's my little sister."
"You once told me that all your effort and diligence were for the sake of protecting and taking care of your sisters, and to not disappoint Uncle Leon and Auntie Rossweise, right?"
Noah nodded.
"From what I can see, you're doing great~"
Helena said, "Your sisters rely on you, and I can feel the pride in Uncle and Auntie's eyes when they look at you. Noah, you're really amazing."
After a moment, Helena turned her head slightly to look at the girl beside her and changed the topic, "But don't you ever feel tired?"
Noah was taken aback, and she also turned her head toward Helena, "What?"
"Everything you do is for others, never for yourself. Doesn't living like that make you feel exhausted?"
Noah's pupils shifted slightly. After a moment, she looked away and gazed back at the sky.
"Haven't we talked about this before, Helena?"
"But that was a long time ago. I want to hear your thoughts now," Helena said.
Noah pressed her lips together and thought for a moment before replying, "Now… my answer is still the same: No, I don't feel tired."
"Because my sisters need me. I don't want to see Mom's sad face again, and I don't want Dad to leave me again."
"Helena, you said everything I do is just for others, but that's not entirely true."
"Everything I do is for them, and for myself."
Looking at that youthful yet determined profile, Helena smiled.
She looked away, stretched lazily while lying on the ground.
"That's why I say, I'm really envious of you."
"Envious that I have two little sisters?"
"Not just that."
Helena smiled at Noah, "Now I'm also envious of your sense of responsibility and dedication. If it were me, I probably couldn't do what you do."
Noah responded seriously, "It's okay, Helena. When you're my age, you'll naturally be able to do it."
Said the child who was a full three years younger than her friend.
Helena burst into giggles and lightly swept Noah's shoulder with her tail, "What's that supposed to mean? I'm clearly older than you."
They chatted a bit more, and the topic shifted to Leon and Rossweise.
"I saw Uncle and Auntie at the last parent-child sports day at the academy, and their performance was truly impressive."
Helena said, "They must be really loving in private, right?"
"Hmm... probably."
"Probably?"
Noah nodded.
"You mean you don't know how Uncle and Auntie are in private?", Helena asked.
Noah's thoughts stirred slightly, and she replied, "What's there to know about a relationship where even holding hands makes them blush?"
"...Oh, so they're the respectful and polite type of couple?"
"Hahaha, not really. It's just like... they seem like they've never dated, but deep down they care a lot about each other."
Noah rested her hands behind her head, images of her parents bickering flashing through her mind, "Though they bicker every day and blush when holding hands, I think... they're quite loving in private. Otherwise, there wouldn't be Little Light."
[Little Light: Big Sis, what if I told you I was an accident?]
"Hmm… makes sense. Loveless couples wouldn't consider having a third child."
Helena sighed, "Sigh, your family is really lively. As someone from a cocooned household, I'm genuinely envious."
Noah turned on her side, propping her chin with one hand, looking at her blue-haired friend, and asked, "Is Auntie Claudia really not going to have another child?"
Helena shook her head, "Mom said having me is enough. Besides, you know our tribe's situation is a bit special. I'm the only one from our tribe attending the academy."
"Sea Dragon Tribe... what exactly happened to make them so reclusive?", Noah asked.
"I don't really know either. Mom never told me much."
Helena stood up and patted the grass off her skirt, "Alright, let's not talk about that anymore."
Noah also stood up. After thinking for a bit, she pointed toward the back mountain of the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, "Let's go, I'll take you to the back mountain. There's a cherry blossom grove there."
"Yay, let's go!"
———
With Luna actively guarding the tower and Little Light secretly helping, the weekend turned out to be quite pleasant.
On Monday morning, the whole family stood in the front yard of the sanctuary, waiting with Noah and her friend for Leviathan.
Little Light leaned in Leon's arms, secretly looking at her second sister.
Second sis was shaking big sis's tail, saying she couldn't bear to part and asking if she could take two days off to stay home with her.
'Girl, asking the ultimate honor student to take time off? You might as well just stab her,' Little Light complained in her heart.
Actually, Luna knew her sister wouldn't really take time off to stay with her.
She was just being a bit coquettish symbolically.
It had been a while since she acted spoiled, and wow, it still felt amazing.
A moment later, the giant dragon Leviathan hovered above the sanctuary, and a teleportation beam descended.
Noah pinched her sister's cheek, "Be good, Luna. I'll come back next week to be with you, okay?"
"Okay~", Luna wasn't really being unreasonable.
She leaned against her sister's cheek one last time, then returned to Rossweise's side and took her mother's hand.
"Be careful on the road, Noah," Rossweise reminded.
"Got it, Mom."
"Take care of yourself," Leon said.
"Yes, Dad."
Noah then looked at her little sister in Dad's arms and smiled, "Will you miss me, Little Light?"
"I will. I'll even dream about it," Little Light replied.
Noah smiled and waved at them.
"Goodbye, Uncle and Auntie~"
Helena also politely said goodbye, "Goodbye, little Luna~ Goodbye, Little Light~"
"Bye, Helena sis!" Little Light replied energetically.
Although she was a little reluctant to part with the fun, Little Light was still quite satisfied with the weekend.
Luna held her mother's hand, pinched the hem of her skirt, hesitated a bit, but still politely said, "Goodbye, Helena sis."
Actually, after spending these two days together, Luna could tell that Helena was a really good girl, gentle, elegant, and sincere.
Rossweise knew her daughter well. She had said Luna rarely held hostile feelings toward anyone, and that was true.
Luna didn't dislike Helena, nor did she reject her. She was just worried that Noah's original attention and care for her would slowly fade because of Helena's presence.
That's why she had been working so hard to show her presence in front of Noah these past two days, afraid her sister would forget her.
As she watched Noah and Helena run toward Leviathan's teleportation beam, Luna's eyes were a bit complicated.
The enormous dragon silhouette slowly rose and then gradually flew away.
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