"Nope~ You have to thank me correctly… What do you say?"
"T-thank you,"
"Good girl. Now you'll need manners if you want to reconnect with civilization again," I say, stroking her hair.
Her smile only grew wider as I kissed her on the head.
…
And so, a few months passed, and we had both grown quite close… with me, of course, assuming the big sister role and Arpious easily fitting into the little sister.
She was quite obedient when it came to me, but the idea of manipulating her left as soon as she laid her head on my chest and slept peacefully next to the fireplace.
She had also taught me a few tips on fighting as I was mostly a magic swordsman but not a martial artist.
Arpious was proficient in basically every category due to her extensive skill list and an overflowing amount of knowledge.
…
Another few months passed peacefully and I began to teach her about the plane she was on.
Three kingdoms are ruling the vast snowy and icy plane.
The Kingdom of Frost Moths. The Kingdom of Frost Drakes. And finally, The Kingdom of Frost Bunnys.
Each kingdom ruled a small part of the plane as not much of the actual plane could be inhabited by life.
In fact, the place we were in was so cold that any resident from any kingdom would most likely freeze to death… But myself and Arpious were built different, so we couldn't feel it much.
Also, she was getting a bit better with her addiction to the happiness mask.
The main problem, in the beginning, was that it was so accessible due to it literally being one of her skills, so I had to watch her for about two weeks straight, making sure she used the pipe instead of the mask.
She struggled greatly in the beginning, but eventually, she was able to ease her addiction.
But… the substance she was smoking with the pipe wasn't exactly the healthiest as it is made from a poisonous plant that induces hallucinations, giving you something akin to a high.
…
And finally, our remaining few months together in the little cabin were spent in peace.
"Alright, are you ready to go?" I ask Arpious, the pipe still in her mouth.
"Ye- Hol, o-" She muttered before grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around herself.
She then walked right up next to me before blowing a puff of smoke.
"Geez, you should probably brush your teeth again. Your breath smells like linner," I said, waving the smoke away from me.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtLinner was the plant she was smoking which should've probably killed an average person by now… as it was hazardous but the perfect substance to help her step down from her addiction.
"We should probably step down again," I muttered as we waded through the waist-high snow.
We both had on fluffy robes made from yetis' fur, which kept us completely warm.
"Step down on what?"
"Your substance,"
"But why? I'm doing better than before,"
"Yeah… But you shouldn't be smoking at all. It's terrible for your health,"
"But I have godly regeneration,"
"Doesn't matter! It's still terrible for you!" I shout.
"Tch… Fine," She mutters before taking another puff of smoke.
After wading through the snow for the entire day, we finally arrived at my kingdom which was covered in snow as always.
The reason why we didn't fly, which would've been a faster solution, was because when it's windy on this plane, IT'S WINDY.
"Well, I'm gonna go to the brothel first," Arpious mutters, but I quickly stop her with my hand.
"You have… Three wives… What are they gonna think when they hear about this?"
"Don't worry. We do it all the time. I won't develop a love for a prostitute," She says, but I kept her in place with my hand.
I even gripped the top of her head as she ripped my hand off her shoulder.
"You know I can't feel pain, right?"
"Yeah… but I want you to stay here… okay?" I muttered on my last straw, and upon seeing my face, which held back a thousand years' worth of anger, she stopped.
"F-fine… I was just joking anyway,"
"Mhmm… Sure," I say as a royal carriage comes to pick us up from the entrance.
I greeted the citizens of the kingdom as we stepped into the carriage, my wings folding behind my back.
Arpious received a lot of mixed stares, but it was clear she was good at ignoring them as she kept smoking her pipe.
But before she could step onto the carriage, a few of my frost moth guards stopped her with their long spears.
"Please step back," They say, but Arpious just grabbed both of the spears before shattering them within her palms before stepping into the carriage.
"H-how dare you!" One of them shouts, but before Arpious could kill them, I grabbed her hand, which had been cocked behind her head.
"Stop. Don't make a commotion… She's with me," I first say to Arpious and then direct my eyes at the guards who saw their lives flash before their eyes.
They were scared shitless as Arpious walked into the carriage.
"Bad girl!" I shouted as soon as the carriage was closed, and a few Mud Unicorns took us down the road.
"Psh… They need to learn their place-"
"Stop… *sigh*... Arpious, how about you wait for me to explain to them or you, yourself explain to them that you're with me,"
She stopped and began to reflect on her actions.
"S-sorry," She apologized.
"*sigh*... I'm not accepting your apology until you prove to me that you won't make impulsive decisions like that,"
Her eyes were like that of a small frost puppy… but I didn't give in.
"Tch… Whatever," She muttered, her puppy eyes quickly disappearing, being replaced with her usual tomboyish look.
She then took a puff of the smoke, letting it fill her lungs and then exhaling it all out.
"Don't smoke in the carriage,"
"Foooo,"
She took another puff and blew it in my face.
"You little… Ugh… You're going to be punished once we arrive at the palace,"
"What? Punished? Why?"
"Don't 'why?' me,"
"I already said I was sorry… geez,"
"Yeah, yeah, but I'm not accepting it," I say as this time she opens the window in the carriage and blows her smoke out there.
It seems she really is listening to me on the inside…
"Wait a second, did you say palace?"
"Huh? Yeah… why?"
"So… you're… a noble or royal?"
Ah, that's right… I guess I haven't told her that,
"I'm the queen of this kingdom,"
"Really?!"
All of a sudden, she got really excited.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Yep! Your big sis is pretty amazing, right?!"
"That means we're both rulers!" She shouted in excitement, and I could only reply with a blunt,
"Huh?"
"Yeah? You rule a kingdom while I rule multiple empires,"
"W-what is even the title for that?"
"I named it, 'Kaiser'. It's another word for ruler or something, and I thought it was cool, so I deemed myself Kaiser and then deemed my son the next Kaiser once I left the plane,"
"R-ruling multiple empires… What kind of little sister did I pick up?"
"An amazing one," She said, puffing out her chest proudly, but when she looked at my chest, she retracted a bit.
"That's amazing… That means you can help me with political affairs… right?" I asked her with a malicious smile that caused her to shiver.
"O-Of course,"
She totally thought that she could just laze around.
I won't announce her as my little sister yet because that will just put her in more danger, but there is no harm in having her do some of my work.
Soon, we arrived at my palace, which was made completely from stone.
It helped insulate the place for some of the weaker attendants and servants, as well as some guests once they arrive in our kingdom.
We have a neutral pack against the other kingdoms, but it is on the verge of breaking… so I don't think we'll be receiving any more guests any time soon.
"We welcome you back, your highness," My head maid greets me as we step out of the carriage.
"Thank you. This is my guest right here, so prepare her a room. She will be staying for quite a while," I order, and she immediately bows.
"Is she from another kingdom?"
"No, she is not,"
"May I ask one more question?"
I glanced at her, and she lowered her head.
"Go ahead,"
I already knew what she was going to ask… and what all the servants who greeted me were wondering.
"Why does she look like that? I've never seen her type of species before,"
I glared at her, causing her to shrink back, which was a signal not to dig any deeper; otherwise, she would be punished.
"Oh yeah, don't give her any food. That is her punishment for today,"
"I'm hungry though," She complained, but I just ignored her.
She doesn't have any currency anyway, so she can't just leave the palace and buy some food outside.
"So hungry," She muttered as soon as we entered the palace.