Chapter 39

When I tried using the explosive magic, my left hand got caught in the explosion, and as a result, it ended up in a terrible state.

"O-Oh, Master! I-I'm so sorry! It's all because I said something unnecessary!"

Fokaroru bowed her head in a flustered manner.

"Oh no, what should we do!? We have to heal it, right!? What should we do!? Right, I'll go get Nene!"

Closer also rushed out in a panic.

Indeed, Nene could heal it.

Moreover, since Nene lived in a mansion, and when we sent Nene home earlier, Closer and Fokaroru had come along, they should know the location.

However, I was a bit reluctant for the materialized Closer to visit my family home, as I felt it might cause some trouble, but my hand hurt too much to argue.

"What happened!? Big brother!"

A few minutes later, my sister Nene entered the room, being dragged in by Closer.

"T-That, Norman-sama's hand..."

"I see, I understand! I'll heal it right away!"

Nene quickly grasped the situation and got to work.

"What was the cause?"

"It got caught in an explosion..."

"Ah, I see. Thinking about it, the Hippocampus Palace might be good for this."

Saying that, Nene placed her extended hand on the wound and spoke.

"Hippocampus Palace. By the name of Nene, I command you to show your power through this hand."

After finishing the incantation, a magic circle appeared on the wound.

"The human body is constantly influenced by the stars. Most diseases are believed to be caused by the influence of the stars. However, by using the power of the stars in reverse, we can also heal diseases. Well, this time it's an injury rather than a disease."

Nene explained to me.

Since I haven't learned healing magic in my basic course, this was probably her consideration.

"See, it's already healing."

As Nene said, the wound was indeed starting to heal.

After about ten minutes, my hand was completely restored.

"Thank you, Nene."

I thanked her, impressed by Nene's healing magic skills.

"Compared to that, I feel so pitiful."

This incident was entirely due to my own immaturity.

I don't know what would have happened if Nene hadn't been there...

"It can't be helped. Big brother, you've only recently started using magic. It's a common path for everyone to accidentally hurt themselves with their own magic."

My sister encouraged me.

What a kind child she is.

"By the way, what's with that thing on your hand?"

Ah.

The "thing" on my hand must refer to the sigil carved on it.

Oh no, maybe she'll find out about the demon summoning.

"That's a sigil, right?"

"Um..."

I need to somehow cover it up, but nothing comes to mind.

I look to Closer for help, but when our eyes met, she just said "Oh no" and was flustered.

"Are you maybe researching a unique spell?"

"Huh?"

Unique spell? What does that mean?

"Are you doing it without knowing?"

Nene looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"No, that's it! I was researching a unique spell!"

Desperately trying to cover up, I affirmed it with all my might.

"Isn't it a bit early for big brother to be doing unique spells?"

I remember reading in a magic book that a sigil is needed to handle unique spells.

Since unique spells aren't covered in the basic course, I had forgotten about it.

Anyway, it seems that the sigil on my hand is only thought to be for unique spells. This is a significant discovery.

"I'm a bit behind everyone else, so I wanted to catch up quickly."

I tried to cover up with a lie.

I feel like I've been lying to Nene a lot lately.

"Well, I think you should do what you like, but if you're going to do unique spells, you should do it under a teacher's guidance. Self-taught methods often lead to bad habits."

"Got it, I'll do that from now on."

For now, it seems I can cover up the sigil.

"Or, maybe Closer is teaching big brother unique spells?"

"Wh-What!?"

Suddenly, the conversation was directed at Closer, who stammered.

Nene's energy seems to rise when she talks to Closer.

By the way, Fokaroru is in a spirit form, so Nene can't see her.

"Big brother told me that Closer is a student at Xenox High Magic Academy! Oh, so you're learning unique spells under Closer's guidance. That's reassuring."

"Eh, eh, eh..."

Closer seemed to be in a state of confusion, unable to understand the conversation.

Oh no, I remember lying about Closer being a student at Xenox High Magic Academy earlier.

"Huh? But if that's the case, shouldn't you have asked Closer for healing magic instead of me?"

Oh no, the lies are starting to unravel!

"C-Closer isn't good at healing magic..."

"R-Really?"

"But Closer is amazing at water magic. Right, Closer?"

"Y-Yes! I can do anything with water!"

Closer desperately tried to align with the story.

"Really! I'd like to learn water magic from Closer too."

Nene said, her eyes sparkling.

Phew, it seems I can get through this.

"W-When the opportunity arises, I'll teach you, Nene."

After Closer made a vague promise, Nene said, "Well, take your time," and left the room with unnecessary consideration.

First, I need to explain to the two of them about the lies I told Nene.

"---So, I lied to Nene and told her that the two of you are students at Xenox High Magic Academy."

"It's not right to talk about demons, even to family."

"Yes, since we shouldn't talk about demons recklessly, lying was unavoidable."

"Still, demons have a bad image in society, don't they?"

Having met a few demons, I don't really have a bad image of them.

"Some demons do try to harm humans, and demons are powerful. It's inevitable that humans fear them because of their power."

I think Fokaroru is right.

Lying isn't good, but in this case, it's unavoidable.

I'll probably have to lie a lot more to keep the demons hidden in the future.