Chapter 405: All You Need Is A Big Sister

Mika finally managed to pull back from the onslaught of kisses, pushing gently against Astrid’s shoulders.

"Okay, okay, that’s enough."

He wiped at his face, which was now thoroughly wet.

"Any more and my entire face is going to turn blue from all the kissing and sucking you’re doing."

Astrid pouted immediately, her lower lip jutting out in protest.

"But Miiikaaa—"

"Ah-ah-ah." He held up a warning finger. "If you try to do anymore, I’ll get up and walk away. Is that what you want?"

Her eyes went wide with panic.

"No, no, no, Mika! Don’t do that at all!"

She grabbed onto him desperately, pulling him back into a tight hug—a normal hug this time, without the kisses.

"Big sister will be obedient! She’ll follow what you say! Just please don’t go anywhere! Instead—"

She said eagerly.

"Let’s talk! Let’s talk about what exactly is going on in your life right now! I want to know what you’re doing!"

Mika’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Suspicion crept into his expression.

"What are you trying to do?" He asked warily. "Are you trying to sabotage me somehow? Get information you can use against me?"

Astrid looked genuinely offended.

"Of course not, Mika! I’m simply acting like your big sister right now. And like any good big sister out there, I want to know more about my little brother’s life."

She leaned in closer, her expression open and curious.

"So, what exactly is going on? Did you gain any new friends? Do you have any new hobbies?"

"And what’s going on with Auntie Yelena and the others? I heard you’ve been speaking with them more."

Mika studied her face. The innocent look. The genuine curiosity. The complete lack of ulterior motive.

After a moment, he relaxed.

"Well...about friends..."

He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Unfortunately I haven’t really gained any new friends or anything."

"It’s still the same old Maria."

Then he smiled slightly.

"But she’s basically like family now."

"And honestly...just spending time with her is enough."

His expression brightened a little.

"And actually we were planning to do a project together later about—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

Because suddenly—

The air felt colder.

A faint chill crept along his spine.

He turned to look at Astrid.

She was pouting.

Her eyes were half-lidded and dangerous, her lips pressed into a thin line of displeasure. She looked like she wanted to murder someone.

Specifically, someone named Maria.

Mika sighed in exasperation.

"Oh, come on, Astrid! You were the one who told me to talk about my friends! The moment I bring them up, you put on a face like that?"

Astrid sniffed haughtily and complained saying,

"Yes, I told you to talk about your friends. But I didn’t tell you to talk about that damn girl who keeps circling around you all the time."

Her eyes flashed.

"Every time I see her, I get so angry. I just want to beat her up with my tails. She has that sneaky look on her face, like she’s trying to steal you away from me."

Mika rolled his eyes.

"That’s just how Maria looks at everyone. You don’t need to worry about that."

Then he paused and his brow furrowed.

"...Hold on."

He turned to her.

"Did you and Maria even meet in the first place?"

"How do you even know about her?"

"Of course I know about her, Mika."

Astrid waved a hand casually, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I use my connections in the office to monitor you at all times. I know about all the incidents that occur and all the relationships you have with others."

She smiled sweetly.

"I’ve read a transcripts of you talking to her."

Mika’s blood ran cold.

"What the hell, Astrid?! That’s creepy!"

She tilted her head, still smiling.

"Not creepy, Mika. I’m simply doing my responsibility as an older sister. I need to monitor you at all times, just in case you get into bad company."

She reached out and patted his cheek.

"But don’t worry. I’ve made sure my female subordinates only mention information that could be a threat to you."

"Not to mention that 99% of the time, you evade any monitoring, so I only know what everyone else does."

Mika let out a breath of relief.

For a moment there, he’d been genuinely concerned.

If Astrid knew how intimate he and Maria had become, she would absolutely be furious.

She wouldn’t do anything to her because she knew the repercussions, but she’d be crazier then she already was.

Good to know she was only getting the sanitized version.

But anyway, he knew it was time to change the topic.

"Okay, well...since you’re not fond of me having friends, let’s just talk about your sisters instead."

He smiled fondly as he went on to say,

"Recently, I’ve been getting along with them quite well. Everything is progressing nicely."

"Just today, I caught Charlotte trying to steal her friend’s snacks by using her blessing to mind-control her into giving them up."

He chuckled.

"And Anya? Oh, this is absolutely hilarious. In class, she accidentally sneezed, and for a second her blessing went off."

"Not in a bad way—in a hysterical way."

"Everyone in the class suddenly got a new nose, or another eye, or an extra hand popping out of them."

"She turned the entire class into a freak show in an instant!"

He laughed at the memory.

"It was probably horrific for them, but it was the funniest thing ever. There are photos floating around everywhere. I can show you—"

But he stopped.

Because that cold feeling was back.

Even colder than before.

He turned to find Astrid staring at him with the same jealous, icy expression, her tails now twitching with agitation.

"Oh come on Astrid!" Mika threw his hands up. "You told me not to talk about my friends! Fine!"

"So now I’m talking about my sisters! Your own sisters! And you’re still upset?!"

Astrid’s voice came out clipped and sharp.

"They’re not just my sisters, Mika. They’re also my enemies. My rivals. The ones who are after you as well."

She pointed an accusing finger at him.

"And here you are, speaking about them so lovingly! So adoringly! You keep boasting about them, and it’s obvious you’re spending more time with them while you left me alone!"

Her voice cracked slightly as she asked in a rather vulnerable manner,

"So tell me Mika? Are they more important than me? Do you care about them more than your own big sister here?"

Mika stared at her.

Then he sighed—a long, deep, exhausted sigh.

"Okay. Fine. Fine. I won’t speak about them."

He crossed his arms.

"Instead, I’ll speak about their mothers. About Yelena and the others. How about—"

The cold gaze returned.

Even colder than before.

Mika’s eye twitched.

"WHAT THE HELL, ASTRID?!"

He looked utterly baffled.

"You told me not to speak about my friends! Okay, fine, I accept that! Then you told me not to speak about your sisters and okay, I reluctantly agreed to that as well!"

"But now I’m trying to talk about your own aunts! About Yelena! Fauna! About the women who are basically family to you!"

"Why are you angry about me speaking about them?!"

Astrid’s response to Mika’s exasperation was immediate and fierce.

"That’s because no matter who they are, Mika—even if they’re your own family, even if they’re your own mothers who raised you, cared for you, took care of you your whole life and were there for every single moment of your existence—they’re still women at the end of the day."

She crossed her arms firmly.

"And there’s no way I’m going to allow you to speak about any other woman in front of me. It’s basically blasphemous."

"It’s like talking about another religion when you’re in the temple of some other faith. I won’t allow it at all."

Mika stared at her in utter dismay.

But she wasn’t done.

"In fact..." She continued in a strict, commanding tone. "...even if they’re not women, I don’t want you to speak about anyone else. Friends, foes, whatever they may be. No one."

"Then who the hell am I supposed to talk about?!"

Mika rattled his head in disbelief.

"My entire life revolves around other people!"

In response, Astrid’s face brightened with a brilliant smile as she pointed at herself.

"Me, Mika! Me!"

She patted her chest proudly.

"The only person you need to talk about is your beautiful, stellar, amazing, powerful, utterly gorgeous sister. Other than that, you really shouldn’t talk about anyone else."

"I mean, just think about it..."

She tilted her head, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"With such an amazing sister right here beside you, why would you ever need to talk about anyone else?"

"Mothers, sisters, friends, whatever they may be—they’re completely nothing compared to me."

"All you need is me..."

"...a big sister’s all you need."

And to prove her point, she pulled him into another hug, rubbing her cheek affectionately against his while he sat there completely baffled by her reasoning.

When he finally pulled back, he stared at her like she was some kind of alien existence before rubbing his forehead and saying,

"You’re crazy, Astrid...You’re absolutely crazy."

But she didn’t look offended at all. If anything, she looked pleased.

"Of course, Mika! I’m crazy for you! I’m crazy for my little brother! And who wouldn’t be, when they have such a cute little brother?"

She leaned in, clearly aiming for another round of kisses.

But Mika held her back.

"Okay, stop. Stop."

He then took a deep breath to calm himself down and said in a reasoning manner,

"Look, talking about my family, my friends, or anything about my life—it’s not going to do us any good."

"You’ll just twist it around to make it all about yourself."

"You’ll try to distance me from society itself. It’s like you want to put me in a cage and keep me as a little pet."

Astrid’s eyes lit up.

"Can I? Can I make you my little pet?"

She leaned forward eagerly.

"I’ll feed you so well! The best meals ever! I’ll also give you the biggest kisses ever! I’ll even let you play with my tails all the time!"

"Just become my little pet, Mika, and I’ll give you the best life!"

Mika rolled his eyes so hard they nearly got stuck.

"Instead." He said firmly. "Let’s talk about something else."

He pointed at her.

"Let’s talk about you. Your life. What’s going on on your side of things."

Astrid blinked, caught off guard.

"Have you made any friends recently?" Mika continued. "You’re usually surrounded by people in this building, or by people who are always after you for one reason or another."

"You must have made a few friends, right?"

Astrid’s expression flickered.

Something uncomfortable passed through her eyes.

"Friends?" She laughed, but it sounded hollow. "Who needs friends?"

She shook her head.

"I have none of those in my life. Friends would only pull me down from my mission."

She chuckled, but there was no real humor in it.

"Not to mention, most people are too scared to even talk to me casually. My face, my reputation, my position—it all keeps people at a distance."

"But I really don’t need them, do I?"

She tried to sound righteous as she pointed at him and said,

"I’ve got you after all. You’re my best friend in the whole wide world! Isn’t that right Mika?"

She said it affectionately, warmly, like it was supposed to be comforting.

But Mika just looked at her.

A sad, pitiful look.

Like he was seeing a very lonely, very sad being who didn’t even realize how much she was missing.

He pushed forward anyway, hoping for something better.

"What about hobbies, Astrid? Have you picked up any new hobbies that you really enjoy?"

Astrid thought for a moment, placing her chin on her hand.

"Well." She said slowly. "My main hobby is kicking demi-humans out of our world. Making sure they never come back. Trying to ensure they can’t even enter our world from the very beginning."

Mika groaned internally.

"But other than that." She continued, missing his reaction completely. "I really don’t have any other hobbies."

Then her face lit up with genuine excitement.

"Oh! Actually, recently I’ve been working on a project with my team. We’re developing a device that can sense any illegal demi-human entries within a particular area. It’s been a particular interest of mine lately."

She clasped her hands together, a dreamy look in her eyes.

"If it works, no demi-human will be able to enter our world illegally ever again. Can you imagine?"

"A world where those creatures can’t just sneak in whenever they want? It would be perfect. Absolutely perfect."

Mika stared at her.

Absolutely dumbfounded.

Here she was, cuddling him, calling him her little brother, showering him with affection—and yet she could talk so openly, so dreamily, about a world without Nuri. Without any demi-humans at all.

The casual racism.

The open bigotry.

The way she said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He didn’t know whether to be horrified or just deeply, profoundly sad.

"Astrid." He said carefully. "You do realize Nuri is your childhood friend, right? You’ve known her since you were both little."

The moment he mentioned Nuri’s name, something shifted in Astrid’s expression.

Astrid’s face hardened. The warm, affectionate expression from moments ago vanished, replaced by something cold and defensive.

A shield went up—visible, tangible, impossible to miss.

"So what?" She said flatly. "Even if she’s my childhood friend, she’s still a demi-human at the end of the day."

Mika tilted his head.

"And?"

"And I want her to leave too. Just like all the others."

Mika studied her face for a long moment.

Then, slowly, a small knowing smile tugged at his lips.

"Really?" He asked softly.

Astrid nodded firmly. "Really."

"Really, really?"

"Yes, Mika. Really."

He leaned in slightly, his eyes teasing but kind.

"Then look at me. Look me straight in the eyes and tell me you want Nuri out of this world. Tell me you want to never see her again. Tell me you hate her."

He paused.

"Say it to me, and I’ll believe you."

Astrid opened her mouth.

And then—nothing came out.

She tried again. Her lips moved. Her throat worked.

But the words wouldn’t form.

Mika waited, while Astrid’s face cycled through several expressions.

Frustration. Confusion. Defensiveness.

And underneath it all—something vulnerable.

Something raw.

Normally, she was so straightforward. So bold. So unapologetically herself.

But right now?

Right now, she couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t say the words.

Finally, her expression crumpled into a pout. She looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

"Let’s...let’s forget this topic, Mika."

Her voice was smaller now. Quieter.

"Every time we talk about this, it ends up in arguments. I really don’t want to speak about it right now. Not tonight. Not when you just came back to me."

She looked at him pleadingly.

"Please. Can we just...leave this topic aside for now?"

Mika looked at her.

At this fierce, proud, complicated ’sister’ of his.

Who could declare her hatred for demi-humans so easily—until it came to someone she actually knew.

Someone she’d grown up with. Someone who, despite everything, still held a place in her heart.

He knew pushing further wouldn’t help.

Not tonight.

Not like this.

So he sighed and nodded.

"Fine. Fine."

Astrid’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

But Mika wasn’t done.

He looked at her, a new curiosity in his eyes.

"Instead." He said. "Let’s talk about your sisters. How are things going with them?"