Chapter 6 ~ Among the Dead

I could faintly make out the sound of rain drumming against the roof and windows. Usually, heavy rain meant dark clouds would block out the sun. Awaking from my slumber, I took a moment to get out of my coffin and process what I was feeling. My body felt sluggish and tired even though I could still function. After getting dressed and looking over the sales for the month, I made my way up the stairs to see Lily cleaning the tables where we displayed the various herbs and tonics for sell.

Lily greeted me with her usual cheerful smile.

“Good morning. You’re up early.”

“Yeah, since the rain and clouds block out the sun rather well, I can be out during this time.”

As she started back on her cleaning, I helped by placing the items she had removed back onto the table. The time passed in silence as we went about cleaning up the shop. Usually, customers would enter the shop around the mid-day hours from what I gathered with our profits. For the most part, the strongest time for sales was around that time and near the late afternoon. Morning hours were apparently slow as well but not always. It was the night hours that business was often the most dead. I never dealt with many customers, maybe six throughout the whole month.

After finishing up the cleaning, Lily and I waited for customers to enter but found business to be on the slow end. It was likely that due to the heavy rain and chance of thunderstorms that no one would even bother to come to the shop. Deciding to past the time with a book, I grabbed one off the shelf that was written by an alchemist and talented apothecary who was borderline eccentric but skilled in crafting medicines and tonics that helped others. In fact, it was this person that created the first potion ever in existence and became known throughout history as the Eccentric Ashen Witch, Myria Lysa Valaista.

I had read through the book many times and the story of Myria was always a fascinating read. She was considered an outcast in her small village of Rezlet but enjoyed knowledge and learning about the world. It was this drive that saw her become the youngest alchemist to ever become a full pledged alchemist. At only nine years old, she was creating various medicines that combated fatigue, cured poisons and restored the body to its natural state. Throughout her lifetime, she travelled all over the world before settling down in what became the capital of the empire, Valaista.

Thanks to Myria and her breakthroughs, the lands throughout the empire boomed into what it is today. Myria’s story is taught in schools and academies, as well as her crowning achievements. I along with many other alchemists look up to her and see her as the benchmark of being a world-class apothecary. Of course being as influential as her is vastly different from the reality we live it. While alchemists continue to make new discoveries, there is nothing truly ground-breaking at the moment. I had managed to craft a few ideas and even created a medical remedy from the notes I had learned throughout my travels; yet, it still needed to be tested. For a medicine or tonic to be sold in a shop, it had to be approved by the alchemist guild – of which their were many branches just like the adventurers guild.

The problem is getting the approval of the alchemist guild. Unlike the adventurers guild which was easy enough to be accepted into, the alchemist guild required one of two things to meet their high standards in order to gain the alchemist stamp and legally sell medicines and herbs. Either membership into the guild or a recommendation from the alchemist guild leader. Of course this still did not mean the concoctions could be sold onto the market. Upon acceptance into the guild, the medicine or herb had to be tested in a controlled environment and produce results of exceptional quality. The medicine also had to be approved by the alchemist guild leaders in all major branches and of course surpass what is on the market, as well as be original. Even when all the boxes are checked getting permission to sell your own medical herbs and tonics could take up to a year. In short, the alchemist guild did not take their job lightly and always ensured immaculate quality in every product they endorsed.

I would hopefully be able to run an alchemist guild branch here in Nullus. Of course that required me to actually be a member, or rather a ‘legal’ member. Like the various artisan and merchant guilds that had branches throughout the empire, shadow guilds also existed. Legally, they did not exist but they were maintained and like the legal guilds, they too were beholden to professional standards and obligations. From thieves guilds to assassin guilds, there was various types of underworld guilds that worked to high-level of quality.

Continuing to pour over the book, I could hear the rain beating against the windows even louder than before. Seeing just how bad it was, it was likely that there would be no customers for quite possibly the whole day.

“Hey Nyizel, do you think we should just close up the shop?”

“It’s starting to look that way.”

As if on cue, the sound of the front door opened revealing a person I knew.

“Oh! Myilia, it’s so good to see you,” Lily said with a smile as she rushed to greet her.

“Kind of figured you would be in the capital, imouto. What brings you all the way out here in this storm?”

“I actually needed to buy Moonvale from you, Onii.”

“You travelled all the way here just to buy Moonvale even though you can acquire it in the capital?”

Myilia blushed and averted her gaze.

“Yeah… I just trust you and your shop over the other.”

“Aww! You wanted to see how your brother was doing, right?” Lily asked with a smile as she hugged my sister tightly.

My sister was dripping wet, even with her cloak and hood covering her she had still managed to get her clothes underneath soaked to the bone. As she made her way to the counter, I could hear the sound of her boots squeak slightly with each step. The storm outside continued to drum against the shop walls and windows to the point that saying it was ‘bad’ was an understatement.

“Do you plan to head back out into that storm?” I asked.

“Yeah, I just needed the herb.”

“You have to stay the night. There is no way I’ll allow you to head back out in this weather,” Lily said.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a burden.”

“It’s fine. I can make you some red wine and get you a change of clothes while Nyizel watches the shop.”

My sister thought about the offer for a moment. I knew she was the type that hated to be indebted to someone. She always paid off her debts, as did I. There was something about owing people that the two of us despised.

“Well, if you insist, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Nyizel, you watch the store while I go get Myilia a change of clothes.”

I complied and watched as the rain beat against the glass windows. The minutes passed until I grew tired of waiting around behind the counter. It was clear to me that no customers would be out in this weather unless it was an emergency. Closing the shop and locking the front door, I looked over the shop floor once more. There was no doubt that business was not going to happen today. Making my way up the stairs, I decided to partake in a glass of red wine.

As I enjoyed the red liquid washing down my throat, I could hear the sounds of Lily and my sister in the bath. It was hard not to overhear them as Lily began to cry out in a paroxysm of giggles. I knew it was only a matter of time before my sister took advantage of the situation.

“H-Hey, M-Myilia! S-Stop it, that tickles!”

“Why are they bigger than mine?”

“D-Don’t touch me there!”

I could only imagine what my sister was doing to Lily in the bath. My sister did not have any fetishes to speak of but she was not one to pass up teasing Lily if given the chance. It was odd but she only ever teased people that truly cared about. Of course, I was a bit of an exception. She never gave me much of a hard time.

“Myilia!”

“Hey, Onii?”

At the sound of my name, I sighed, knowing exactly what my sister was going to ask me.

“Are you in a state of arousal at the thought of me playing with Lily?”

“Why would you ask him that?” Lily asked.

“I’m not.”

That was a bit of a lie. The feeling was… odd. Considering one of the people in that bath was my sister. I was not one that loved her in such a way. After all, this was not some poorly written book involving incest. If such a book existed, it would be an abomination to the world. In fact, whoever would write such a book needed help, preferably taking an arrow to the knee.

Still, had it not been my sister I could not deny that there was some part of me that would love to see Lily bound and controlled by another girl – a cute guy in a skirt was also acceptable.

“Onii, you want me to get my friend to tie up Lily so you can watch, right? I know you’re thinking it.”

“S-Stop teasing me like this, please,” Lily begged.

“Wow, dear sister… I’m amazed that you even have a friend that isn’t me.”

“That’s mean, Onii.”

I could not see her expression but I would imagine that my sister had a half-moon gaze on her face, the dark bags under her eyes making her look annoyed or like she would kill me. Many people who interacted with my sister believed her to be expressionless and serious due to her limited palette of facial expressions. She was hard to understand and often conversations she partook in while challenging to keep up with for most normal people.

“You two probably don’t want to stay in their too long,” I said as I finished off the last drop of my wine.

A few minutes passed before my sister and Lily opened the door to the restroom. Lily was dressed in a simple lounge outfit that was a plain white under-shirt and a pair of shorts that revealed her flawless pale thighs and legs. With her haired tied up in a ponytail, there was something about her beauty that made her appealing to anyone that gazed upon her. My sister was dressed in a simple black top that loosely fit her, while her shorts were barely notable due to the fact Lily was about one size to big around the chest area. It was a bit different to see her have her hair tied up in a ponytail like Lily’s, personally, I believed pigtails suited her far better.

“Which of us is cuter, Onii?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Lily seemed a bit timid and her cheeks were flushed a soft shade of red.

“Recall the conversation we had, about sexual appeal of girls who remove their shoes?”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about.”

“I’ve matched Lily’s style roughly.”

“Did the two of you always act like this?” Lily asked as she averted her gaze for a second.

I looked over the two of them, my gaze leaning more towards Lily – after all, I was not in love with my sister. They were both attractive girls for any guy or girl to fond over them. The choice though as plainly obvious as my sister and I were related which nullified this experiment she was hoping to conduct.

“I believe this experiment is null and void, imouto. After all, you’re my little sister so it’s a bit one-sided.”

My sister processed my words for a moment.

“I suppose you are right. We need to gather up various boys and girls to see how you react.”

“I’m not making a harem.”

“Would you prefer them bound and gagged?”

Lily’s face turned a bright cherry red as she looked over to my sister in shock.

“Can we come back to this topic at a later date?” I asked.

My sister sat down at the small table that contained our secondary chess set – sitting in her usual position of having her knees hugging her chest. I placed my finished glass on the kitchen counter.

“Very well. Lily, would you care for a game?” my sister asked as she looked over to Lily.

Lily smiled and made her way over to the other chair.

“Sure.”

Silence fell upon the room as I watched the two of them move pieces one after the other. It was truly amazing to think that Lily was able to keep up with both me and my sister, not just in combat but also in chess. She had told me once that she lead a military expedition once in a small skirmish with only nine soldiers against nearly triple of what she had. It helped that she was a skilled ranger and talented in archery. Her skill with the sword was also unmatched.

Her S-rank status came by a complete misunderstanding of events. One night while out in a forest, she had become incredibly intoxicated that she randomly fired and arrow into the sky before passing out. When she woke, beside her were a mass of people and a dead dragon. While she had been unable to recall anything that happened, the people praised her for taking out the dragon with her arrow, killing the beast in one shot. The arrow had lodged itself into the dragon’s eye socket, forcing it to swerve and hit a nearly mountain with full force. Its neck snapped, killing the beast instantly.

Still, even if her dragon slaying rise to fame was unworthy of an S-rank status, she did manage to hold her own against a demon. While she did not kill it alone, it earned her the Crimson Demon nickname that many called her by in the city. Plus, her crimson hair colour added to it.

“Oh yeah, I have a small problem. Think you can take care of it, imouto?”

As my sister finished the game with checkmate, she looked over to me.

“Is it actually a small problem? Because from what I heard, it was big. Two times as big.”

“I guess you already told her then?” I asked as I looked over to Lily.

“I’ll take care of it when I head out tomorrow night, so don’t worry.”

“I appreciate it,” Lily said with a smile as she stood to her feet.

It was a rare sight but seeing my sister smile and hugging was a sweet and precious moment. She never spoke to people all to often, if she did it was simple and short phrases. In general, she was seen as cold and blunt.

“Well, I’m going to get some rest since that rain outside sounds nice. I am happy you’re here, Myilia.”

“Sleep well, Lily,” my sister said as she sat back down.

“Night,” I said as I sat in Lily’s place.

Once she had gone to bed, I set up the chessboard so that my sister and I could play a game. Several hours passed before the game between me and my sister ended in a draw. We continued to play three more games while discussing about the earlier conversation. My sister seemed intent on building me a harem just to test what we dubbed the ‘Cute Unilateral Malediction’ experiment. Personally, I felt the name could have been better but it was not strictly a thesis or something we would be publishing into a textbook. Of course, if this experiment did go public, we would definitely have to rework the name.

After playing another three games, I leaned back in my chair and looked out the nearby window. The rain was still hitting the roof hard but it was starting to lighten up from a few hours ago. My sister yawned as she leaned back.

“We should probably get some sleep.”

My sister nodded and stood to her feet. The two of us made our way down to the basement. As my sister entered my room, she could see the corpse that I had killed and drained for blood. I opened the lid to my coffin, noticing my sister was fixated on the dead body.

“I already drained his blood.”

“And you didn’t leave any for me? No fair, Onii.”

“Because I knew exactly what you would do with his dead corpse.”

It is cute to see my sister pout like a little girl, it was subtle but it made me feel like an older brother. Often, I never felt like the older sibling as my sister was technically smarter then me – even if we were technically on the same level. Still, these little moments were nice. My sister stepped into my coffin and laid down as I laid beside her. She quickly nuzzled up to me, wrapping her arms around me as I shut the lid.

“Please try not to get aroused while in here, Onii.”

“As if. We’ve always shared a coffin like this. Why would now be any different? Also, we’re vampires.”

“Well, if you pictured the events from the bath, I’m sure you will be rising from this coffin in more than one way, Onii.”

“If you keep this up, I’ll throw you out into the sun,” I said in a joking manner.

“I just wish you would be honest about your feelings with Lily. You like her, right, Onii?”

“I do. It’s just not the right time yet. This relationship needs to grow, like a fine wine.”

“Or the plants in your garden.”

What was truly amazing to me was the fact our guild had various sexual innuendos for code. Why they had so many was beyond me. I gently placed my hand on my sister’s head and played with her hair. She purred like a cute cat and closed her eyes. With a smile, I kissed my sister’s forehead and closed my eyes.

“Sweet dreams, Rita.”

“Nighty, Rin.”