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Wait, she called me sister? What does this mean?

“Hehehe, you look surprised. She’s the magic automaton Christina built, with my help of course.”

She’s Christina’s? That’s cool and all, but why am I being called her sister?

“Her basic rig is based on yours. We had to simplify various features so they were manageable by Christina, and the materials have been downgraded to more common ones, but her fundamental design is still you.”
“Ahh, I see.”

I guess that does make me her sister… right?

Looking more closely at her I notice her hair and eyes are a bit dull, so I guess that’s the difference in materials. I think the biggest difference is our skin though. There are no seams in my body except on my joints, but I can see a clear line that goes from below her eyes to her chin. There’s also similar lines on her arms and legs. I’m sure there’s a lot more in places I can’t see too. I guess that just goes to show the difference in skill between Christina and Ophelia, though Ophelia was essentially unmatched.

Her maid uniform is also a bright pink color.

“Was she the reason why you asked for Steel Silk the other day too?”
“Ah, yes. I used that for her nerve threads.”
“That’s not all though. She had to infuse the Sorcery Core with a bit of mana to get it running, and she mixed in a bit of your mana when she did that.”

I guess that influx of mana is similar to how a gas stove needs to be lit with fire before it heats up? But I don’t remember being anywhere near a Sorcery Core to put some of my own mana into it.

“Exactly how did you get my mana?”
“Mhehe, this.”

Annabelle takes out a small bottle filled with a glistening blue powder. I’ve seen that powder before.

“Is that the mana dust from my Sorcery Core?”
“Yes. Mana is less dense than air so normally it gets dispersed far into the atmosphere, but when trapped inside a container like this, or imbued into Mana Crystals, it can be preserved. You can even amass it into Magic Stones with alchemy. It’s a bit of a waste that you never collected it yourself.”

I didn’t know mana dust could be used like that. So far I always thought of it as waste, but that does feel like a missed opportunity now. Though I usually have more than plenty of mana, so I don’t know if I’d use it for anything.

“The only thing is that she’s just been activated, so she still hasn’t developed a personality.”

Cases of a soul inhabiting a body like me are an exception, and usually magic automatons require a lot of piled up experience to become fully autonomous. After greeting me, Plum has been standing there silently and perfectly still. She doesn’t have a mind of her own yet, so she only knows how to follow orders.

“And well, I wanted to ask you something, Natalia… so…”
“Could you help us raise her? You can do it only in your free time if you want.”
“Raise her?”

I parrot what she said, but Annabelle just keeps grinning like always. Christina explains in her stead.

“I’d really like it if Plum develops a personality soon, but both me and Miss Annabelle are busy with schoolwork… And so I thought that you could help. She’s based off of you, and you’re a fellow magic automaton after all. You can have her help you with chores too if you want, so…”

Christina’s voice keeps getting quieter the more she speaks. She probably thinks she’s asking for too much from me. Hmmm, luckily I don’t have any work as an instructor now. I didn’t get any request to teach second year students, and I’d only expect a request to come from the first year students, and in the second half of the year.

“I see. I’ll do it then, if you truly believe it’s the right choice.”
“Th-Thank you!”

Christina keeps bowing profusely as soon as I agree.

“Since she’s just been activated she needs to be monitored often, so I’ll be looking after her at night. I’ll prepare the next room for her, so just take her whenever you want, and then get her back at night.”
“Got it.”

I don’t have any plans right now, so maybe I should bring her to the dorm and have her help me with chores then. So I turn to look at my little sister and-

“Aww it’s like a cute miniature Natalia. Gueheheheh~”

Olivia tightly hugs Plum, her face looking creepy as she bares her lust for the world to see¹.

Young Lady… you have a lot of things to work on. Though considering how quickly the target of her affection switched… Yeah, I think she’s confusing her hormonal emotions with love.

I take Plum to the dorm, and wonder what I can have her do. I’m already done with my daily chores, so I don’t really have much to do before it’s dinner time. I almost force Olivia to get in her room and do homework and then bring Plum to the dining hall.

“Now, what should we do?”
“Is the Order a Rabbit!”
“There’s nothing to order! Go away!”

I’m still thinking of what to do when Ruri appears even though I didn’t call her.

“You’re no fun. But I guess the rumors that you brought a little girl that looks just like you are true.”
“Who said that? …Where did you hear that?”

Oh no, I almost spoke too harshly in front of Plum. I hope she doesn’t learn that.

“Hello, I’m Ruri, the servant of Ryuka Urado. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m magic automaton Plum of Christina Barnard. Nice to meet you. Lady Ruri.”

Ruri acts like I said nothing and instead greets Plum.

“And so, where did you sack this cute little girl?”
“What do you take me as?”

I’m not some pervy rabbit. As annoyed as I am, I explain everything that happened.

“Ohh, that’s the squirrel girl, right? Still, I wasn’t expecting to see you with a petite sœur.”
“Can you stop with the random references?”

That’s not even relevant. I’m not going to keep fixing her tie or anything like that.

“So, what are you going to teach her?”
“That’s the problem. I’m done with my chores for today, so I don’t really know what I could teach her.”
“Hmmm. Say Plum, is there anything you wanna do?”
“Lady Christina told me to follow Sister’s orders.”
“Uhmm… that’s not what I meant.”
“I told you, she doesn’t have a personality yet. That’s why I’m looking after her.”

Either way, I just have to find something for her to do. It’s not like she’ll grow up in one day, I’ll need to pile up experience after experience.

“Alright, I’m sure the Young Lady’s head will start smoking anytime soon, so let’s make some snacks to help her relax. You two help me out.”
“Yes, Sister.”
“Me too?”
“If you help I’ll give you something as a gift too.”
“I guess I have no choice then.”

Let’s start with something simple like pancakes.

Plum follows me to the kitchen obediently, and Ruri comes too, enticed by her share.

I look down for a bit and notice Plum is looking intently at me. But her eyes look lifeless, and it almost feels like she’s looking at me but isn’t seeing me. I guess that’s how magic automatons are supposed to be. It’s a bit strange to think that I would’ve looked like that if my soul didn’t take over this body.

There’s no way to know what kind of personality will awaken in Plum², and there’s a chance she’ll never get one. But if it happens, I really hope she becomes someone grateful for being created.

Though I don’t know if I should be the one saying that when I didn’t even help build her.

I scold myself about that as I start making pancakes.

1. Robinxen: Olivia, we are truly of the same mind.
2. Robinxen: She’s literally a melting pot of factors now, so much could go right or wrong here.