Vol. 3 Ch. 97

The bedroom door creaked open, and a set of quiet, sneaky footsteps made their way inside.

After a moment, a tuft of pink hair cautiously poked through the doorway, revealing a pair of big, curious eyes scanning the room.

Noa slowly drifted out of her consciousness space, opened her eyes, and turned toward the door.

"Aurora? What are you doing?"

Seeing her older sister notice her, Aurora stepped fully into the room, her face breaking into a mischievous grin.

"Good morning, big sis! What are you doing?"

She ignored Noa's question entirely, expertly steering the conversation her way.

"Reading."

It wasn’t like she could admit she was actually in a "history lesson" with a dragon relic from thousands of years ago.

Aurora’s gaze shifted to the book on Noa's desk. Sure enough, a book lay open—but the pages hadn’t been touched, lying there flat without a single turn.

Aurora knew that this book had been on her sister’s desk for at least a week. Given Noa’s usual reading speed, she would have finished a book of that size in three days, at most.

So, reading? Just a cover. Clearly, her big sister was up to something else, and Aurora had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"Where’s Moon?" Noa asked.

"Oh, second sis is in the backyard with Dad."

Noa nodded and turned her attention back to her “reading,” leaving further questions alone. But she didn’t realize that her oversight—leaving a finished book out as a prop—was exactly what Aurora had been waiting for.

Pretending to read, Noa only half-noticed when Aurora pushed a chair taller than herself over to Noa's side. Using hands and feet, she scrambled up and sat beside her sister.

"What’re you doing, Aurora?"

"I’m studying with you, of course! You gave me all those books for next semester, didn’t you? I thought I’d get a head start!"

"Oh… okay."

Without much thought, Noa continued pretending to read.

Aurora opened one of her books and flipped through it, but her pink eyes kept darting up at Noa, watching closely.

When she judged the time right, Aurora let her book fall to the floor with a loud *thud*, and she herself toppled from the chair dramatically, limbs flailing.

Noa quickly rushed to her sister’s side, steadying her. "Are you okay, Aurora? Did you hurt yourself?"

But Aurora slumped against her, wincing and clutching her head, her face twisted in pain.

"Ugh!… It hurts… so much pain!"

"Where does it hurt? Did you hit your head?"

"No! Stop! Don’t come out!"

Noa froze, confused by the strange response.

What… don’t come out?

"Aurora?"

"Big sis… Ah! You need to leave! I can’t hold her back! My other self… she’s coming out!"

"Huh?"

"She’s coming out! She’s coming out!" Aurora’s legs gave a few dramatic kicks, her tail twitching, before she “fainted” in Noa’s arms.

Alarmed, Noa shook her gently. "Hey! Aurora, don’t scare me! I’ll take you to—"

Before she could finish, Aurora sprang up, leaping out of Noa’s arms in one agile flip.

The little pink-haired girl now stood before her, hands on her hips, a look of triumph plastered across her face.

Noa was baffled.

What was this all about? Did she lose a dare or something?

"Aur… Aurora?" Noa ventured, her voice cautious.

"I am not Aurora! That soft-hearted girl has gone to sleep, and this body is mine now!"

"..."

This sounded very familiar.

Wait, don’t tell me… Do *you* have a legendary dragon hero in your head too?

"Enough with the nonsense, Aurora."

"Who’s talking nonsense?"

With a self-important look, Aurora struck a pose, lifting her little arm and flexing a nonexistent bicep.

"I am Aurora’s hidden personality! Unlike her soft side, I am strong! Brimming with *power*!"

This bizarre performance didn’t phase Noa. She kept a straight face, placing a hand on Aurora’s forehead.

"No fever… so why are you talking such nonsense?"

Aurora shook her head, batting Noa’s hand away.

"I already told you—I’m Aurora’s hidden personality! Aren’t you impressed?"

Noa crossed her arms, giving nothing away. "Oh? Then what’s your name?"

Aurora blinked, thrown off. "What… name?"

"You said you’re different from gentle Aurora, didn’t you? So, you must have a name of your own, right?"

"Uh… ummm…"

"What, don’t tell me you don’t have one?"

"Wh-who says that?! Of course I have a name! It’s… it’s Hikaru! Yes, Hikaru!"

"Oh, so you *do* have a name," Noa replied coolly.

"And what about you?"

Noa raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"

"Quit pretending! If everyone has a hidden personality, then surely I can sense yours, Noa K. Melkvey! Bring her out and let’s chat!"

For real?

If Aurora hadn’t bonked her head just now, then this must be… some kind of bizarre outburst?

But she wasn’t even old enough for this kind of thing, was she?

Mom always said that only people like Dad were prone to that sort of dramatic flair at any age.

So, let’s see… Noa got Dad’s competitiveness, Moon got his talent, and Aurora got his melodrama?

"I don’t have a second personality, Aurora. Now stop messing around."

Noa kept her tone steady. She was pretty sure Aurora was just putting on an act, nothing more.

"I’m *not* messing around! Come on, let your alter ego come out! I’m excited to meet my new friend!"

Noa sighed. Now she understood.

This wasn’t some random outburst. Aurora was still hung up on that “ghost hunt” incident from a few days ago.

Noa should have known—her other sister was an airhead, but this little sister? Not so easy to fool.

She couldn’t just tell her the truth, either. If she did, the ancestor would never stop nagging her about it.

So…

Noa suddenly got an idea.

"Ah… you’ve seen through it, so I guess I can’t hide it any longer," Noa said with utmost seriousness.

Aurora’s eyes lit up.

It worked! She’d finally gotten her sister to admit it!

Suppressing her excitement, she tried to keep her tone casual. "Good. So, what’s her name?"

"Noah."

"No, I’m not asking for *your* name. I’m asking for your second personality’s name."

"Mhm, Noah."

"No! Not your name—I mean your, *second*, *personality’s*, name!"

Noa shrugged. "Believe it or not."

I’m telling you the truth, it’s your fault if you don’t believe it.

Aurora was about to lose her cool.

Why had her sister stopped following the script as soon as things were going well?

As she looked at her sister’s expression—a perfect replica of their mother’s icy look—Aurora began to realize that her tactic wouldn’t work this time.

Noa had probably just been humoring her.

With a quiet sigh, Aurora resigned herself. Today’s plan was a bust.

"Ah, it seems our time together has been so short. I must say goodbye to this free world."

She placed a hand to her forehead, putting on a theatrical display of sorrow.

Noa said nothing, watching her sister’s dramatics with a raised eyebrow.

"The world shall fall to darkness without me! Farewell, my friend!"

With that, Aurora flopped backward, dramatically “passing out” onto the floor.

A few seconds later, she slowly opened her eyes, scratching her messy hair as she sat up, looking around in confusion until her gaze met Noa’s.

"Big sis? What… happened?"

Noa smirked. "Nothing much."

"Oh… then, if there’s nothing wrong, I’ll go play in the backyard with second sis."

Just as she tried to slip away, Noa called out.

"Wait."

"Yes, big sis?"

Noa’s eyes glinted. "Actually… you just awakened a second personality."

Aurora blinked, feigning innocence. "Oh? What’s that?"

"I’m not exactly sure," Noa said, walking over and taking her sister’s hand. "But your second personality seemed really scary. It might even be some sort of illness. Let’s go tell Mom; maybe she can help."

Tell Mom?

No way! Absolutely not!

The whole point of this act had been to draw out the “ghost,” not to get herself in trouble.

Aurora dug her heels in, even her little tail standing stiffly in resistance.

"No, big sis! We can’t tell Mom!"

"But your second personality was really scary. If it goes on for too long, I’m afraid it might affect your mind."

"Ugh… actually, I was just pretending…"

Aurora could tell Noa wasn’t kidding. Reluctantly, she confessed.

"Pretending? That looked way too realistic for acting, Aurora. This is for your own good; let’s go."

"No, please, big sis! If Mom finds out, she’ll think I’m a weird kid!"

Seeing her little sister finally looking panicked, Noa smiled and let go of her hand.

"Will you keep scaring me with all this ‘second personality’ nonsense?"

Aurora shook her head vigorously. "I won’t! I won’t!"

"Good, then go on and play."

"Thank you, big sis, for your mercy!"

Aurora bolted out of the room, her footsteps fading into the hallway.

Noa chuckled under her breath.

"Gotcha, you little rascal."

Even though she’d managed to fool Aurora this time, she knew her little sister wouldn’t give up so easily.

What kind of scheme would she come up with next?