The Sorcerer's Handbook

Meanwhile, Lys and her sisters had finally reached an agreement.

Lys would stay behind in the real world to keep watch over their physical body, while the others entered the Family Dream.

Lys threw a fit. ”(σ｀д′)σ Why do I have to be the one to stay behind again?! I want to go play in the dream too! You wouldn’t let me into the Virtual World, and now you won’t even let me into the dream!”

Seeing Little Lys throw a tantrum, her sisters remained completely unbothered. White Queen sighed. ”Lys, you do realize we’re going into the dream with a mission this time, right?”

Lys puffed out her chest proudly. ”(○｀ 3′○) Yeah! We’re just going to fall in love, right? I can do that too!”

White Queen replied. ”Then tell me, our brilliant Little Lys. How many people does it take to fall in love?”

Lys held up two fingers confidently. ”(￣▽￣) Hmm... two people, right?”

White Queen said, ”Exactly. Two. But as Pankey mentioned, the strangers in the Family Dream are all terrifying adults. You’re not planning to fall in love with one of them, are you?”

Lys shook her head vigorously. ”No way! Their eyes are scary!”

White Queen concluded, ”Which means we have to handle it internally. I’ll pair up with Black, and Secret Princess will pair with Red Death Apostle.”

The Family Dream was a dangerous place, and Dia and the others had no intention of charging in recklessly. They had one major advantage over the other dreamers in that they weren’t alone.

Ashe’s suggestion had been spot on. If blindly integrating into the Senheiser family led to assimilation, then the safest strategy was to ”supply your own partner.” While others had to scramble to find someone to love, the four of them could simply pair off among themselves.

Lys blinked, taking a full three seconds to process the math. ”w(°Д°)w Then what about me!?”

”That’s just how it is,” White Queen said, shrugging from within the mirror. ”There are five of us. Since we’re pairing off in twos, one person is left over.”

”Σ(っ°Д°;)っ No, no, no! I don’t want to be left out! Make another sister for me! I’ll fall in love with her!”

White Queen said firmly, ”Sisters are not created for that purpose! Be good, Lys. It’s not that we don’t want to take you, but that the math doesn’t allow for it. Stay in the real world and do whatever you like. Ashe’s Substitute will handle the intel gathering, so just don’t cause any trouble.”

Lys’s eyes suddenly lit up. ”(>▽