Where I'm headed to is Norn's room. Lately, we've been training together in the morning. When Norn is staying at our house, we train in the garden, and when Norn is staying at the dorms, I go meet her at the school courtyard. Today is one of the days she is staying with us.
"Norn, are you ready?"
I knock the door and open it.
"Ah, Nii-sa――"
"Oops, excuse me."
Since she's in the middle of changing, I close the door.
Norn's body is still young. Though I'm fine with both young and matured bodies, I'm not aroused by my sisters. Though it's a little bit of a shame, I'm relieved. To love someone without lust really is a special feeling.
However, when I consider that this sister of mine will one day become someone's woman, feelings of gloominess start to sprout. Is this what they call the heart of a father?
It's not bad. I'll do this in place of Paul. In place of Paul, I'll take on the duty of saying 『I won't hand Norn over to a no-name, shady bastard like you.』
"Geez, after knocking please wait for my answer."
Whilst I was thinking about such things, Norn comes out with sword in hand, wearing gym clothing. She's wearing a long sleeved top and long pants that aren't erotic at all. It's the gym uniform designated by the Magic University. I bought it at the university and gave it to her as a gift.
When I happen to peer into her room, I notice that Paul's sword is hung up high on the wall. Though in my previous life I would've left a framed photograph of him in the butsudan, there are no photos in this world. If you search earnestly you might find a magic tool that takes pictures, but normally it isn't possible. That's why the articles of the deceased are used in place of a butsudan.[1]
"Norn, do you mind if I enter your room for a little?"
"Eh? It's fine I guess?"
I enter with permission. When I do, I find that Norn's scent fills the room. It's a scent particular to bedrooms in the morning. Nearby is a bed with ruffled sheets. If I dived into it and sniffed it, I'd probably get nothing but Norn. I won't do so though.
I stand in front of Paul's sword and bring my hands together.
"Tou-san. Today I'm going to practice the sword with Norn. Please watch over us so that nothing serious happens to us."
With that, I bow. What would Paul say? That getting wounded has value? Or, would he tell me not to injure Norn?
I happen to look at her and find that she's on her knees with her hands clasped together, in the style of the Milis faith.
"Shall we go, then?"
"Yes, please take care of me today as well."
――――――
Stretching exercises. Running. Practice swings. Even if I say 'sword practice', right now we're doing nothing but building up her fundamentals. These past few months, Norn has been strictly building up her foundation.
Though I say 'strictly', the training menu that I use would crush Norn. That's why we're starting with a fifth of the harshness of mine. Since Norn is still 10, it wouldn't be physically possible anyway. If I suddenly force too much on her, all that'll achieve is ruining her body. While I have Norn do practice swings in the garden, I'm finishing off my own weight training.
"Twenty-five...! Twenty-six...!"
It's a monotonous type of training, and because of that it's simple and easy to get tired of, but Norn still hasn't complained to this day. It's something that makes me happy.
"――Fifty!"
"Alright, well done."
"Haa... haa... Thank you for instructing me!"[2]
After the training is done, I get in the bath with Norn and we clean up. Because Norn fell over a lot during the running practice, places like her knees are wounded and bruised. I apply healing magic to those places. It's 'pain, pain, go away' magic for my little sister.
It seems that for some reason Norn doesn't want me to see her naked, so she wears panties and a thin shirt. It's probably puberty. Aisha gets naked at the drop of a hat so I want to have her follow Norn's example.
I take this into account as well and put on pants before washing myself. Still, if I told her that there are guys who get aroused from seeing shirts become transparent from water, what kind of face would she make, I wonder? Though I kind of want to see, I won't say it. It'd be lonely if she stopped bathing with me. It'd be tough if she thought of her Onii-chan as a pervert.
"Today was nothing but practice swings again, huh?"
While I'm thinking about such things, Norn brings her mouth into a pout.
"When will I be allowed to learn swordsmanship?"
"Aren't you already learning it?"
"Not just practice swings, but forms and techniques too."
I've been teaching Norn how to run properly and how to do practice swings. Running and practice swings. They're ways to build up her body and her muscles. Without a strong body and strong muscles there's no point in learning the forms and techniques. That was why I did so.
"...You're right."
I wonder if her body's gotten strong enough these last few months.
Thinking this, I look at Norn. Her small body is in its growth phase. I wonder if her limbs are more muscular than compared to when we first started.
It's still difficult to say that her body is strong enough. But I get the feeling that she's strong enough not to hurt herself. It might be about time to teach her the first form.
"You're right. Then after class today, the real stuff begins."
"...! Yes!"
While having this conversation, we leave the bathroom.