Sevens Volume 1 - Prologue

I will leave I Kinda Ca to Another World alone for a little to see if anyone wants to pick it up. This is another teaser.

Author Note: This is a Fantasy.

This story will generally advance by the main character’s first-person perspective.

※Fantasy, Harem, and Double Standards are to be included. Readers with an aversion to such material are advised to turn back. (ED Note: Double Standard: It’s where you have a certain standard, but apply it unfairly or unevenly across groups. For example, it’s fair to give cookies to everyone, but you let the girls have more. It’s fair for everyone to pay taxes, but you’re okay with having your friends not pay.)

Prologue

The one I faced in the mansion’s courtyard was my sister.

A perfect existence.

If soone out there were to be completely loved by god, it would probably be soone like her.

(Why did it co to this)

I hold my breath, and gripped the sabre I held in one arm with both of my hands. The tip of it was shaking.

It wasn’t just fatigue. The emotion of fear was also apparent in the blade.

“Hah, hah...”

The sabre in my hands was real. My sister’s rapier was real as well. For us to be seriously going at each other with weapons, I never would have thought it sane.

However, the one to propose this duel was, undoubtedly, her.

Wearing a dress, she spoke as she looked at without any interest.

“Are you still going to continue this, onii-sama?”

While she called onii-sama now, she usually doesn’t even call my na. ‘You,’ ‘that thing,’ and other such phrases were how she usually referred to .

But no one in the surroundings ever found fault in that.

She wore an ivory-colored dress and red shoes. Even though we were both exchanging slashes, unlike , she wasn’t sweating at all.

As if she was going to head off sowhere formal, her outfit was well in order. The rapier that sister held in her hands was an article made by a skilled craftsman.

It was adorned with ornants, and the hilt was inlaid with a yellow orb. The gem that couldn’t be made anymore in the current era was a special tool that brings forth special Skills.

The rapier it had been inserted into was a Magic Item, a weapon called a Magic Sword. It was a rare good that couldn’t be bought even with a hundred gold coins.

With the sword in hand as a mismatch with her appearance, my sister’s standing figure was in a ss.

This year, she was to turn thirteen. Flowing, golden hair waved on her head. Her figure was, unbefitting of her age, quite voluptuous.

Her blue eyes stared at coldly.

Chills raced down my spine.

Scary. I wanted to run. But I could not.

“Not yet. We’re not done yet!”

I forcefully contained my fear and stepped forward.

I had faith in my well-trained sword skills. I was confident that I wouldn’t even lose to adults.

The Walt Family... in order to succeed our noble household, I received severe training from a young age. I was confident in my blade.

But...

“Hah, you sure are slow.”

In the past, I was also a prodigy. A wonder child. They always showered with praise. In order to answer to my parents and my family’s expectations, I desperately put in all my effort.

But that effort, before the sister two years younger than , was useless.

Obviously, my sister was a girl. As swordsmanship was thought of as unnecessary for her, she didn’t pick it up over the passage of years. She was just taught the basics, and all she should know was how to hold it and swing it.

Even so, I couldn’t win against her.

“Wha!”

We clashed for an unknown amount of tis, and my body was covered in nurous shallow cuts. Even when I slashed at her, she easily dodged with minimal movents.

At the sa ti, her whip-like rapier blade ca down on my face, arms, and stomach.

“Just then, I could have given you three fatal wounds, Lyle.”

The na of the girl who said my na with a smile on her face was Celes Walt.

If there ever was one loved by the heavens, anyone would think it was the sister before . The only one to truly hate her was .

Having my attack dodged, my legs buckled, and I fell over on the lawn.

My body was covered in blood. My clothes were sticking to from my sweat.

My blue hair was also sticking to , but I didn’t pay it any mind. When I tried to stand, I saw those red shoes coming at .

“Guh!”

I blocked with my arms, but I couldn’t kill the montum. My body floated a little before I rolled across the ground once more.

“How unsightly.”

“Yes, truly... to think that this was our son, it’s much too pitiful.”

Where I collapsed were my mother and father.

We were surrounded by a majority of the retainers, but not a single one directed any encouragent at .

(Father... mother... why...)

I wanted to cry. I bore the pain to stand up, and turned to find Celes’s smile awaiting .

“What could be the problem? Is that all you were, Lyle?”

She purposely called out my na to provoke .

“Good grief. Even when Celes only learned the bare minimum of swordsmanship.”

“It really should be Celes succeeding the Walt House.”

My parent’s words were directed at my back.

Even when they’re ones who’ll say things like this, they were once kind to . The Sabre I held in my hands was an item they had prepared for long ago.

『Lyle, you’re also a man of House Welt. Only the best of weapons are fitting for your hand.』

『It suits you, Lyle. As expected of our son.』

They had continued directing a kind smile at until around the ti I turned ten.

After that, my parents ca to dote on my sister Celes. It was around then that they had lost interest in soone like .

That wasn’t sothing limited to this family.

The retainers, who had always treated in a way fitting the future head of the household started treating Celes as their lord.

They spoke ill of behind my back, and kept saying I wasn’t fit to succeed.

Until I was ten, the household, and the populace had been expectantly waiting for to take over.

But now was different. This was the reality.

“With this, Celes is the successor.”

“Good grief, even if they didn’t do sothing like this, all we had to do was drive the boy out.”

“Even when there’s no way he’d ever win against Celes-sama. What a fool.”

It was so mortifying that tears began to co out.

(Just what did I ever do. Why must I be so hated!?)

Even Celes was my sister. It’s not like I had hated her. I had treated her as a brother should.

Did Celes find sothing to hate in that?

“Ara, you’re going to cry? You truly are unsightly.”

She began laughing to herself. She looked like she’s truly having fun.

“Why are you doing this! What did I ever do to you!?”

When I raised my voice, Celes’s expression changed from smiling to expressionless.

“... How loud. It doesn’t matter to you. It doesn’t really matter to whether you’re there or not. But since you beca an eyesore, I’ll have you out of here.”

“W-what are you saying...”

She raised her left hand at , and pointed her finger.

(She intends to use magic!?)

Looking behind, I saw that my parents and the rest of the household had noticed her actions and moved out of the way.

They had given silent approval of her attack.

“Dammit! Ice Wall!”

A wall of ice manifested in front of .

It’s a water attribute magic, and it’s property is ‘Shield’. In order to be praised... in order to make my parents turn my way, I had lost myself in training myself.

It wasn’t just in the sword. Magic, and horse riding, and even knowledge... but in front of the existence in front of , it was all worthless.

“Fire Bullet.”

Showing her superiority, Celes started chanting magic after I had finished my preparations.

In contrast to , it was a fire-attribute spell, and its level was among the basics of the basics. It was also quite a user-friendly one that rely produced a ball of fire.

The wall of ice I had created was chipped away by the fire all too easily.

It wasn’t just a single shot.

From Celes’s fingertip, she shot several hundred repetitions of the sa spell. Each and every one’s output was quite high, and while my magic was supposed to triumph over it attribute-wise, I couldn’t even win against Celes’s elentary-level spells.

“Kuh, Earth Hand!”

From the ground around , grew four arms made of earth. Each of them obeyed my will to attack her.

“How boring.”

Celes smiled as she used the rapier in her hand to cut them all down. A rapier is, essentially, a weapon specialized in stabbing. With it, she used magic to easily cut them.

“Earth Bullet.”

In order to win with versatility, I activated my next magic. Rocks shot up from the ground like cannon balls and tore up the lawn.

But I have no ti to think about anything like that.

“Shield.”

Without a change in expression, she casted it with a smile. A simple wall made of pure mana completely blocked my Earth Bullet.

It wasn’t on Celes’s level, but I had shot several dozen shots. Still, not a single one got through.

(I don’t have any Mana left. I’ll have to end it here...)

Even I could understand I had no prospects of victory. But I had to fight her no matter what.

Otherwise, I would be driven out of the house without having done anything.

What started this all was, as I thought, Celes’s words.

『Hey, Father. This year, onii-sama will turn fifteen and beco an adult. Is this not the ti to hold a match to determine the future head of the Walt House?』

Normally, males would be the ones to succeed.

But my parents said she was correct. They acknowledged our match.

『The loser will leave the house. That’s alright with you, right oniisama?』

She hated , or perhaps she simply found unpleasant. Like that, my fight with Celes had started.

Originally, it wasn’t sothing that would ever have happened.

Having a girl succeed a household wasn’t sothing that never happened. But in those cases, there were certain circumstances, such as the basic principles of the family.

House Walt has had a male successor for generations. From the founding first generation head, a direct line of males have handed down the family to one another.

It’s a household with over two hundred years of history.

Even so, father and mother obeyed Celes’s words and had the match with , the eldest son, approved.

“Celes, never, to soone like you...!”

As I stepped in, I slashed at Celes with all my might. At my sister, who had the appearance of a frail girl, I cut down at full force.

From a third party perspective, I would definitely be the one at fault here. But sowhere in my heart, I understood it. My hundreds, my thousands, my hundreds of thousands of practice swings went into this blow.

The attack with all power behind it would cleave her in two if it landed.

... If it landed, that is.

It’s good that I was able to close in. The attack was the strongest I could muster at the mont.

But my stroke never reached her.

Turning half of her body to dodge the vertical slash, she swung up the rapier to deliver an attack at . As if to tornt , she continued to carve light cuts into my body.

At this rate, it’s never going to end.

“Not yet!”

As my dodged sword dug into the ground, I released my left hand from it and swung up with my right. With the first sword stroke, it traced a V into the air.

Seeing that, Celes’s eyes opened wide.

It was my last resort.

It’s a skill I had practiced in secret, but still, it didn’t reach her. The blade cut close to her dress.

(She could even react to that?)

It was my special trump card, but Celes’s reflexes had exceeded that. However, if you count the cut along her dress, it actually worked.

(It reached. My sword reached Celes!)

Looking from the sidelines, the sight of a brother getting pissed off against his younger sister must be repulsing. But as my opponent was Celes, there’s no aning to that.

Just see her pretty face be twisted in pain for a brief mont, made it all worth it. We both took a step back, and while out of breath, I raised the corners of my lips.

This was the most resistance I could offer. Right now, this was all I could do.

“What’s wrong, Celes?”

She looked down on with an expressionless face, shaking. She must be feeling humiliated. How many tis have I ever seen my sister Celes truly embarrassed before?

“... Don’t call my na, filth.”

“... Eh?”

By the ti I noticed it, she had disappeared from my view. Her voice ca from behind .

As I turned around, her fist entered my sight.

(W-what?)

There wasn’t any pain. By the ti I noticed it, the sabre had left my hands, and I was sent sprawling in the air. Within my vision that seed to see everything moving in slow motion, it seed that Celes was the only one moving normally.

She approached and kicked with those red shoes this ti.

I looked up at her as I flew through the air and saw her preparing to fire off magic.

(This is bad, I’ll die!)

I tried to muster up magic defenses imdiately, but the magic Celes fired was a high-class one. It was a magic that required a considerable amount of skill as a magician.

She’s really coming at to kill .

“Fire Storm.”

As I heard her disinterested voice, I also chanted.

“Water Ball!”

I wrung out my remaining power, and deployed my own magic around myself. A tempest of flas engulfed and tried to burn to death.

I had also activated magic, but I don’t know if this will block it.

All I understood was that the magic she just used was fired in an honest attempt to kill .

“A-am I really that much of a hindrance to you, Celes!?”

As I called out, I flopped onto the ground. The impact rocked my body and pain raced all around it.

Coupled onto the pain I hadn’t been feeling up until now, the impact caused to writhe on the ground. And my own Sabre fell beside .

The tip pierced the earth, and its tal had turned a dull red from the heat.

If I grasped it I would definitely be burned, but still, I reached out my hand.

I’m not thinking of anything anymore, but I simply didn’t want to part with it. To , the blade in front of my eyes was my final bond with my parents.

“A-ah...”

The surroundings watched . Without even thinking about saving , they looked upon . Looking at miserably crawling towards it, there were even those that laughed.

The only one to walk to was the one with a vulgar smile on her face, Celes.

“Serves you right. Although I’m a bit surprised you still managed to cling to life.”

Saying that, she broke the sword in front of my eyes. Perhaps because of the heat, or her own skill, the sabre was cut through as if it were made of not tal, but paper.

My extended hand fell to the ground in vain.

It grabbed onto the grass; I looked up with tears in my eyes. Using her left hand to fiddle with her hair, Celes had a full smile on her face.

“Oh, that was your favorite one, right? How unfortunate.”

She looked like she was having fun as she happily looked down on . However, hearing my parent’s words, she turned around.

“Celes, that’s enough, isn’t it? Your clothes were ruined. How about we spend the day buying you a new dress?”

“Oh, that sounds nice, dear.”

There wasn’t a single soul to look at the beaten and burnt up . They were already treating as if I wasn’t there.

“P-please wait! Father, mother!”

I strained my voice and reached out my hand. But they rely turned their eyes to once. Their gaze were still one where they were looking at sothing filthy.

And like that, I let my head fall to the ground.

I let out my voice and cried out without regards to the surroundings.

–

–

–

I wonder just how much ti had passed, but it shouldn’t have taken that long for to have lost consciousness. I rember myself bawling on top of the lawn, but by the ti I noticed it, I was on a bed.

Bandages were wrapped around my body, and it appeared that I had received so treatnt.

“Just who... Father? No, that wouldn’t happen.”

I’m not sure if I should be saying this, but father would never save . There’s the attitude he had when he left , but more importantly, this place wasn’t inside the manor.

I looked up at the wood grains on the ceiling, and understood this wasn’t the inside of my own ho.

I wonder who saved . It hurt to move, so I turned just my head to look over the surroundings.

I was in a wooden house, no, more like a hut. My eyes turned back to the ceiling. I had woken up, but my body still felt like it needed so sleep.

Also, I don’t want to think of anything right now.

(So I was abandoned...)

Having been abandoned by my family, Celes’s face floated into my mind. Her vulgar smile as she ridiculed .

At that ti...

“...? Who is it?”

Around , the sound of soone speaking... no more like the feeling that soone was making a speech. I was assaulted by a strange sensation.

“There’s no one, right?”

I feel no presences around . Thinking that I was mistaken, I closed my eyes.

I don’t know by whom, but I had been treated. I’ll sleep for a bit, and recover my stamina. My body felt heavy, and I wanted to close my eyes.

(Right now, I don’t want to think about anything...)

–

–

–

It probably happened a little after I had closed my eyes. I heard a voice.

『Oy, oy, that ans it ca, right? It definitely ca!』

Rather than cheerful, the voice sounded violent. It was loud, and it laughed hardily.

(W-who? Could it be the person that saved ?)

It didn’t looked like my voice reached him. What’s more, for so reason, I feel quite tired. It’s as if my Mana was being sucked out...

『Father, please shut up for a bit.』

This ti, it was a worn out voice of a young man.

(There are multiple people? Even so, what’s with this uneasy feeling...)

I can’t let out my voice. My thoughts aren’t getting through to them.

『Try understanding what grandpa’s trying to say, dad. I an, it’s our first conversation. And I can feel that a direct descendant is nearby. He definitely carries our blood.』

This ti, it really was a cheery voice.

(Three? No, there may be more.)

More than a voice, perhaps a presence. I couldn’t think that there were only three.

『I get what grandpa’s saying~. First, let’s calm down and confirm it.』

I heard a new one. Since he said grandpa, was it a family? But all of their voices sounded young, or at the very least, they don’t seem aged.

『Well, it’s our first conversation, you see. But, you know, there are things we wont notice at this rate, I think, you see.』

(Again. With this, is that the fifth voice?)

Another one rang out.

『You’re too pessimistic, pops. More importantly, I want to know what beca of him. It would be nice if he noticed, but... what’s up, Brod?』

The na Brod ca out, shocking .

I an, Brod was the na of my own grandfather.

(This is... this might an that I’m dead.)

Are you alright with that? My inner thoughts scread, as I strained to hear the voices.

『It’s my grandson! It’s Lyle! There’s no doubt it’s my grandson!』

It was so reminiscent of my grandfather’s voice, it made want to give a bitter smile. He was one who was a tad bit too soft on his grandson, but even those emotions could be felt through his voice.

Still, he sounded a little younger. It didn’t have the hoarse tones of an older man.

Just what was the aning of this? I thought, as silence spread for a while.

『『『For real!?』』』

What a noisy bunch. All their voices seed shocked.

(.........Just what sort of situation am I in?)

On that day, my fate began to turn.