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That day, Maria and Cortina had bewildered expressions as they watched Fina playing in the backyard. Lyell had headed out to the Methuselah domain to investigate the matter of the fake.

“Is that really alright?”
“Uhh… Well, she is someone who has helped Nicole, so…”

In front of them, there was a white silhouette giving instructions to Fina while pointing at the herbs growing in the yard. Knowing no cowardice, Fina honestly followed after her. Then again, she was the person who had given her the Gift of Pharmacy, so she wasn’t vigilant from the start.

“The leaves of this Millud plant can be used as a fever medicine.”
“Ohh, big sis you’re such a smart-a̲s̲s̲!”¹ “I preface you’d call me smart! Though I do have a good a̲s̲s̲.”
“You’re good-a̲s̲s̲ed?”
“That’s how you reword it? Not bad, not bad.”

The one having that three-year-old level conversation was none other than the God of Destruction. The same person who saved Nicole from death before. Thus, Maria couldn’t bluntly refuse her. She couldn’t refuse when she came to volunteer to become Fina’s private tutor to raise her pharmacy skill.

“Well, she is Nicole’s lifesaver, and she’s not teaching her anything weird as far as I can see.”
“What about smart-a̲s̲s̲?”
“I wonder where Fina learned that word?”
“From that one?”

Cortina bluntly pointed at the God of Destruction, while Maria looked away.

“Ah, is it tea? It is! Fina, let’s take a little break here.”
“Yaay, snack time!”
“Let’s wash our hands before that. Kabby, if you’d be so kind.”
“Squee…”

At her words, the Carbuncle standing next to Fina responded in a strangely tired groan. And with it, a magic circle was created from which water gushed out.

Fina unhesitantly pushed her hands inside that current and started to wash them. Given her fluid actions, this was probably an everyday thing for her. Next, it was the God of Destruction’s turn to wash her hands, but the Carbuncle dispelled the magic circle. It was clearly done out of spite.

“You still aren’t attached to me?”
“Squee!”
“Just what do you not like about me? I’m so cute too!”
“Squeeeee!”
“I shouldn’t say it myself? I mean, it’s the truth!”

She cast a spell while low effort quarrel with the Carbuncle. With that, the dust and other dirt on her hands instantly fell to the ground.

It was so fast, Maria and Cortina who watched them from afar failed to even catch it. Even Maria, who was also a user of chantless magic, failed to sense the moment she activated the spell.

She then went to sit down at the garden table as if nothing, planning to eat the teacake Maria served.

“Err, thanks for this. Fina’s education and all, I mean.”
“It’s fine. This is all for Nicole who just won’t get femin-…I mean, who doesn’t act as I expect.”
“As you expect? You’re not planning something bad for Nicole, are you?”

Cortina caught her remark and pressed on it. But the girl in white didn’t pay attention to her wariness and reached for the tea Maria brewed.

“Not at all, it’s nothing that bad. I mean, Nicole has a boyish side, right?”
“W-Well I can’t deny that.”

She had already turned into a beauty, being able to turn heads just by walking outside, but she lacked a female characteristic guard. Cortina felt like her defenselessness only grew as of late.

This was because she learned how to turn back to Reid, but Cortina had no way of knowing that.

“And so, I’m trying various things to train her as a woman.”
“Hmm, for example?”
“That’s a trade secret. But well, I would need Fina’s help in that regard.”
“I wiw do my besht!”

Fina replied with a triumphant pose while stuffing her cheeks with muffins. The Carbuncle licked the leftovers stuck on her mouth, while Maria wiped them off.

“Before Nicole, Fina’s upbringing comes first. That’s bad manners, you know?”
“Ughh, sowwy.”

Fina slumped her shoulders after Maria scolded her, then Cortina patted her head. It has been three months since Cortina arrived here, so she felt like a family already. As for Maria herself, she found Fina’s dejected appearance quite adorable.

Ignoring those two, the God of Destruction pulled out a small bottle from her pocket.

“Oh right. If you mix one spoon of this into the tea, it will accelerate the decomposition of fats. I recommend it.”
“What the heck, I want that!”
“I-I’ve also been feeling something extra around my waist lately…”
“I think you’re better off gaining more fat, miss Cortina.”

Seeing Cortina latch onto the topic, the God of Destruction backed away and replied with an argument.

She brought this topic into consideration of Maria whose body was a little off-shape after giving birth. Cortina was already dainty so she would just end up too underweight.

“I mean, I know that too, but I’ve been eating a little too much until just recently, so…”

When Cortina was going out on dates with Reid, she was eating whatever she wanted, different from Finia’s controlled menu, so she was a little anxious about her health.

However, after her overly-healthy daily life in this northern village, her worries were starting to disappear, but she now started to worry about putting on too much muscle instead.

Her ideal body was a well-rounded one like that of Maria’s.

“Good grief, the two of you are so obsessed with this couple, just what kind of fate is this? Anyway, it could be harmful to you, so rejected. I brought this for Miss Maria.”
“Please, me too!”
“No is a no, Tina. She says it’s bad for your body. Plus that would lower my shar—cough cough.”
“Wait, I think I heard something black-hearted just now.”
“Nope, I didn’t say anything. You didn’t hear it right, Tina?”
“But I…”
“You didn’t, right?”
“R-Right.”

Cortina had the most influential voice on the battlefields, but she couldn’t beat Maria in daily life. Maria’s glazed look overpowered her and she obediently sat down.

Fina continued to grow up while observing such hierarchy in her family.

1. TLN: This is an impossible three-way pun to translate. Fina says ももしり (momoshiri lit. “peach-***”, which means restless by general definition) instead of ものしり(monoshiri, knowledgeable) person. But the term monoshiri also has another meaning as a slang to describe a round booty, which Yuuri seems to refer to here, and then Fina misunderstands it again and says もももの (momomono instead) which would be like “peachy/booty-person”.