Auralis Empire

In the end, I skipped class.

It couldn’t be helped. Having a loli-like mysterious creature with me in class would attract way too much attention. And it’s highly likely that our already menopausal homeroom teacher would take this opportunity to lecture me for half an hour. She’d probably start from sociology and work her way up to human morality. But leaving this potential danger aside... based on most movies and novels, the only outcome would be a whole bunch of trouble, and by the time I got home from school, I’d probably be surrounded by men in black suits and sunglasses, followed by a guy with a white smile pulling out an automatic pencil and yelling "Cheese!" at me.

...After careful consideration, skipping class was the best choice—besides, I wasn’t feeling well, right? Totally reasonable, totally reasonable!

My sister was already off to work, and now it was just me and Bell. I needed to hurry up and teach this mysterious lifeform some basics of human life.

“Alright, remember, your name now is Lilith,” I repeated. “You’re my long-lost sister. Unless there are no outsiders around, never mention anything about that unknown Auralis Empire in some distant corner of the universe. Let me see that mark on your arm again—good, the construct lifeforms are really impressive, they can even do this. Just don’t slip up in front of my sister.”

“Yes, ...brother,” Bell hesitated slightly before saying the word.

This was my plan! I’d make Bell pretend to be my long-lost sister. After all, I was an orphan raised by someone else, and no one knew my real background. So, suddenly having a sister wouldn't seem too strange... well, at least I hoped it wouldn’t. But... why did I feel like something was still off?

I frowned, looking at Bell, now wearing old clothes, and something felt wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint what.

Wait... I figured it out...

“Lilith, you can’t smile?”

That was the key issue! I just realized that since we met, this little girl hadn’t smiled once. Not only that, but she hadn’t shown any emotion at all. She was like a delicate doll. And aside from her long explanation of the Auralis Empire, she had hardly spoken at all. This kind of personality shouldn’t be in a fourteen-year-old girl.

That was the minor issue. The bigger one was Bell’s eyes!

They were completely unfocused, nothing but decorations (although her body structure was largely human-like, Bell’s perception of the world was different. At least, her vision didn’t rely on the crude organs humans use). Eyes like that would catch anyone’s attention immediately.

Maybe...

A day passed quickly. During that time, I did my best to teach Bell about human life, and I wasn’t worried about whether she'd remember—it seemed she could retain information just fine. I also learned more about the Auralis Empire from Bell, including details about that 99.99999% useless command set.

According to Bell, the nearest void node was too far, so any command signals had to travel a great distance before reaching the nearest Auralis colony. The signal was so weak by the time it arrived that it couldn’t be distinguished from cosmic microwave background radiation. The fire support I triggered yesterday was a very rare coincidence, my brain had just performed unusually well at that moment.

Since I didn’t understand the technical details, I decided to just trust her.

“I can serve as an emergency Auralis terminal,” Bell said. “But I can only forward less than 10% of the fuzzy instructions, and the conditions for forwarding them will be very strict. Do you need to establish an Auralis forward base on this planet? Afterward, you could wage war and turn this world into a new frontier for the Empire.”

“Forget it,” I said, wiping away sweat. “I’m not planning on conquering the world.”

Come on, conquer the world? Rule over humans? This isn’t a movie! I couldn’t even manage my own life, let alone the world...

Plus, those commands were mostly for warfare. I wasn’t about to use weapons of mass destruction on humans, so the command set was completely useless to me. Building a base would just be a waste. At least, that’s how I saw it.

What? Who said I could use those things to deal with pesky little thieves and impress the girls?

Are you crazy? Use a planetary annihilation cannon on a few petty criminals? Imagine trying to cook lamb skewers with an atomic bomb...

“Brother, there is a carbon-based lifeform approaching. Please confirm its identity.”

“Probably my sister coming back,” I glanced at the clock on the wall. “Also, Lilith, don’t speak like that anymore. You have to make it seem like you’re human.”

Just as I was giving Bell instructions, I heard the door open.

“I’m back,” my sister said, sounding a bit tired. Then, surprised, “Hmm? Blair, who is this child?”

“This is Lilith,” I gently nudged Bell forward, trying to look excited. “She’s my sister!”

“Sister?” My sister was stunned, then suddenly thought of something. “You mean... your real sister?”

“Yes,” I smiled, “I thought all my real family was gone, but it turns out, I still have a sister.”

“Hello,” Bell nodded slightly and greeted with her typical, emotionless tone.

My sister frowned, seemingly bothered by Bell's cold reaction. I quickly explained, “Lilith didn’t have a good life before, and... she’s been through some tough things. That’s why she’s like this.”

That’s when my sister noticed Bell’s old clothes and looked at her with sympathy, though doubt still lingered in her eyes.

I knew what she was thinking. When I was brought back, I was less than a year old, so I couldn’t possibly remember my biological family. And this girl, who clearly wasn’t born yet when I was adopted, was now supposedly my sister. She was worried I’d been tricked.

I smiled slightly, pulled Bell’s arm, and rolled up her sleeve.

There, on her arm, was a small triangular birthmark, the same mark I had on my own arm.

“This seems to be a family trait. It’s not a birthmark, but a mark that every direct descendant has. Also, though it sounds strange, I seem to have some kind of connection with Lilith. I’m absolutely sure she’s my real sister.”

Thank goodness my sister was biologically clueless, or she would’ve figured out my poor excuse immediately—who ever heard of such a strange hereditary trait?

Luckily, my sister believed most of it right away. But she also noticed Bell’s unusual eyes.

“Blair, what’s wrong with her eyes...?”

I gave Bell’s head a tender stroke and said, “I told you before, right? She’s been through some rough stuff, and after that, she couldn’t see anymore. Her personality changed too...”

“Poor little sister...” My sister’s voice became choked with emotion as she bent down and hugged the expressionless Bell. “Where are you living now? If you want, you can move in with us. I’ll take care of you like a real sister...”

Having completely melted into sympathy, my sister completely overlooked how, within a single day, I’d managed to know everything about this so-called “sister” of mine.

Sorry, sis, I’ll keep this secret for now... But honestly, I’m touched by how much you trust me!