The perfect | TBATE X COTE

Chapter 16: Accumulating

Argentina world champion! A long chapter as a gift! Are there even Argentines who read this story?
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Kiyotaka's point of view:

The door to my chamber creaked ominously as two shadowy figures stealthily entered the darkened room. The larger of the two made a subtle motion, to which the smaller, whose twin tails swayed with each step, nodded in acquiescence. As they advanced, the air seemed to grow heavy with their malevolent intent.

With one eye half-open, I observed their movements from my bed, my senses heightened by the influx of mana that rendered me almost impervious to surprise attacks such as this. Furthermore, the two individuals who had invaded my chambers were evidently untrained in the art of covert infiltration. As they stumbled clumsily through the shadows of the darkened room, their intentions were all too transparent.

"Careful." The larger figure stopped near my nightstand and whispered. "We don't want him to wake u-" Before she stumbled and fell face first to the floor.

"Pfft!" The smaller figure covered her mouth with both hands in an attempt to muffle her laughter, but it only made it louder. She didn't seem to notice, and when she could stop laughing, she walked over to the figure who was rubbing her arm in pain. "Shhh!" warned the small figure. "Be quiet."

"Why don't you want me to wake up?" I shattered their illusion by turning on the lamp next to my bed.

"Kya!" exclaimed the small figure, leaping back, her figure revealed by the warm light of the lamp.

The identities of the two intruders were revealed; one was a girl with dark brown hair that was evenly combed, her brown eyes searching the room for an excuse to explain her situation.

The other figure was a smaller girl with light brown hair combed into twin pigtails and light brown eyes that looked nervously between Lilia and me, her small hands clasped behind her back and she moved from side to side feigning apparent innocence. Her lips pursed to whistle, but she couldn't and instead blew air.

I sighed and rose to my feet, walking towards them. "If you want to surprise me, you'll have to be more stealthy." I said as I extended my hand to Lilia on the ground.

She nodded and sighed resignedly as she accepted it with a grimace. "I've been awaken for a year and I still can't catch you."

"Keep trying."

"Big brother!" Ellie ran toward me with a big smile, her small footsteps echoing on the wooden floor; I assumed she wanted to draw attention away from how unstealthy she had been. She jumped into my arms at full speed, oblivious to the fact that she might get hurt if I didn't catch her.

I lightly braced my body with mana to keep myself from falling and caught her in my arms. Ellie clung to me immediately, wrapping her little legs and arms around me and squeezing me tightly.

I patted her on the head, and she rubbed her face against my neck, almost like a cat rubbing herself. I let her hug me for a while before I spoke. "Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

"Aunt Ruri came." Ellie said, her voice muffled by her continued burying of her face in my neck.

"Then let's go downstairs."

I didn't even try to pull her away from me; this was normal for her; she had surprising strength when she clung to me. Ellie laughed and cheered slightly as I started walking towards the stairs, relieved that I hadn't tried to pull her off me.

Lilia closed the dark wooden door behind me, then followed me to the stairs, and I thought about the three years that had passed as I listened to the wood rattling under our shoes.