There were once stark differences between the personalities of the siblings, Darwin and Chris.
When they were young, Darwin was hyperactive, constantly trying to challenge Chris to assert his "big brother" status in the household. Chris, naturally mature for her age, found everything childish; she maintained a quiet, elegant demeanor and rarely showed a child's temper.
But as the years passed, their personalities flipped.
Darwin became mature and steady, shouldering responsibility like a little adult. Chris, on the other hand, became lively and rowdy, frequently looking for a fight and easily getting carried away once the punching started.
In recent years at the Academy, though Chris consistently ranked in the top three for academic performance, she was also a notorious "troublemaker" who loved group brawls, giving the Academy leadership massive headaches.
Every time she caused a scene, Darwin was the one behind her cleaning up the mess. Usually, this "cleaning up" meant taking the fall for her. However, the Academy staff weren't blind; they knew the truth of who was at fault, so most of the time they turned a blind eye and gave out symbolic punishments just for show.
In truth, typical Academy leaders didn't dare punish Chris anyway. After all, she had a Principal for a father, a Vice-Principal for a mother, and a Dean of Students for her other mother. With a background like that—combined with her own stellar grades and immense strength—who would dare provoke her?
When things reached an uncontrollable level, punishments for Chris could only be handled by Weston, Mavis, or Zera personally. At those times, Darwin could only plead for mercy in front of his parents for his increasingly mischievous sister.
Of course, Darwin didn't step in for every crime. If Chris made too big of a mess, he wouldn't help her no matter what rewards she promised; he would even do his best to distance himself from the situation, prioritizing "sibling love" only when it was safe.
Today's "Dragon Hunt" was another case of Chris overdoing it and Darwin having to manage the aftermath.
After using his full strength to block the meteorite's shockwave and reverting from his "Nika Form," Darwin was too exhausted to even stand, though he luckily still had the strength to speak.
"Do you have any idea how much damage that falling meteorite could have caused this continent?"
"If I hadn't bounced most of the impact away, countless people on this continent likely would have died!"
"When that happens, how are our Guild and Academy supposed to explain ourselves to the magic world?"
"Or do you find the 'Dragon Hunting' field trip so boring that you want to challenge the subject of 'Starting a War between Ishgar and Guiltina'?!"
"Our Lagrange family has been loyal and righteous for generations! We are Dukes of the Fiore Kingdom, role models for the magic world, and the pride of Ishgar!"
"Are you trying to become a great sinner like Zeref?!"
Darwin grew more agitated as he spoke, his face turning from pale to a bright red.
Chris, however, didn't seem to take his words to heart at all. She simply blinked her large, shimmering eyes and said happily, "Oh? Your face is so flushed; it looks like your body has already recovered!"
"Recovered?"
Darwin nearly choked. Finding strength from somewhere, he sat bolt upright with a snap.
"Look closely!!"
"I'm just furious!!!"
The smile on Chris's face didn't fade. "You can even sit up now; you really have recovered!!"
Inhale... exhale...
"Forget it, I don't want to talk to you anymore!"
Darwin closed his eyes and flopped back into Erza's arms, nuzzling against her. His sister was too infuriating; only his girlfriend's soft embrace could provide a sliver of warmth.
Erza didn't mind Darwin's small movements. She was staring in the direction where Darwin had reflected the shockwave, deep in thought.
Chris noticed the gaze of her best friend and future sister-in-law. "Erza, what's wrong?"
"That direction..."
Erza raised a hand and pointed. "Isn't that the direction of the Western Continent?"
What??!
Darwin's eyes snapped open. He jumped up and re-verified the geographical coordinates, immediately breaking into a cold sweat. "That... that-that-that... that direction... is-is-is... isn't that West?"
Erza shook her head and said softly, "It's Southwest!"
Southwest?
That is indeed the location of the Western Continent!
It's... it's all over...!!!
He got the direction wrong!!
Because of that, the entire impact of the falling meteorite had been bounced straight toward the Western Continent! While he successfully avoided a war between Ishgar and Guiltina, he might have just started a war between Ishgar and Alakitasia!!
Darwin's vision went black, and he collapsed backward again.
By now, Chris and Erza also realized what had happened. They felt awkward, but they couldn't hold back their laughter.
"Speaking of which, Brother, your geography really has always been poor!"
Due to the influence of their respective magics, the three of them showed different types of academic bias at "Fairy Academy."
Chris used Celestial Magic, so she was an expert in geography. Darwin used Take Over Magic, so he was better at biological research. As for Erza, she excelled in almost every subject but lacked any artistic talent; music, dance, and painting were all a complete disaster for her.
"It's okay!"
"Even if Ishgar and Alakitasia go to war, and you, Darwin, become a sinner of history who implicates the Guild, the Academy, and our Lagrange family..."
"In my heart, you're still my favorite Onii-chan!"
Chris sounded like she was comforting him, but the laughter in her voice was impossible to hide. Darwin felt even more wounded hearing Chris's "comfort" and tried even harder to seek solace in Erza's embrace.
"Ahem..."
"Alright, Chris, stop joking."
Erza didn't mind Darwin's clinginess. She acted like a gentle mother, softly patting his back. "Darwin, pull yourself together. Maybe the situation isn't as bad as you think?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Chris stopped joking and echoed Erza's words. "It's just the shockwave from one meteorite; it shouldn't be serious enough to destroy an entire continent!"
"Besides, there's an ocean between Guiltina and Alakitasia. I don't think the Western Continent is that fragile!"
That... was true!
Darwin gradually calmed down. He suddenly remembered that his long-time online friend, Zeref, had been unifying the magic guilds of the Western Continent over these years, preparing to build a massive magic empire and become its Emperor.
That guy surely had many powerful wizards under him!
A mere shockwave from a meteorite—they could definitely handle it!