The little princess` door wasn`t far from Al`s. I probably could have found it on my own, but Aston led me there unerringly.

　　He didn`t seem to mind just escorting me around and waiting while I did whatever it was I got up to. The other guards rotated, but he hadn`t yet. Although I was grateful for his patience, I wasn`t used to being guarded. For a moment, I wondered what motivated him. Status and good pay? A sense of patriotism and duty to his country? I didn`t feel I was close enough to him to ask. Maybe my predecessor had been.

　　This time, I paused before entering the room and assessed what I was going to find. I could sense more people this time, although none were as strong as me except for a pair of probably guards I put in the fifth stage. But one of those was waiting outside the door, the other one likely on a balcony judging from the distance. There were two presences in the room along with the one who had to be Xiaodan, the others bustled around in their vicinity.

　　I hadn`t felt any threat from Alaster, or had any weird feelings. Maybe that meant nothing, but in light of my predecessor`s writing, I noted it. If nothing else, I needed to check Xiaodan, too, see if meeting her might trigger anything. A long shot, but I have little to go on, so trying many different things makes sense.

　　Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. They must have sensed me anyway, since I hadn`t tried to veil my presence.

　　I barely had time to see another well-appointed room and a number of servants bowing deeply before my attention was drawn to the little girl.

　　"Big Sister Nari!" she exclaimed and jumped up.

　　I stepped further inside, smiling at her enthusiasm. She started in my direction, then paused and instead, with a glance at the stern-faced older woman with her, gave me a bow.

　　"Hello, little one," I replied.

　　Xiaodan looked big for her age, but I didn`t have much to compare her to. She had black hair and almond eyes, with skin a bit darker than mine. Certainly more Asian-looking than me, or Alaster, for that matter. Not that I cared.

　　Although, glancing around, I noticed that three of the four servants visible in the room also looked distinctly as if they were of Asian descent, at least to my Earth-based mind.

　　While I stepped closer and caught the girl in a hug, I reflected on that. The people I`d seen in the palace so far all looked as if their ancestors were from East Asia, or white Europeans, or a mixture of both. But that was using Earth categories, and who knew how things stood here.

　　I`d given up wondering why there were even humans on multiple worlds. It was probably caused by those occasional portals or whatever that Mother had mentioned.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

　　After a moment, I released my new sister and held her at arm`s length while I made a show of looking her over.

　　"Yes, you`re definitely my little sister," I concluded and winked.

　　Xiaodan giggled.

　　"Xiaodan," the older woman said, "why don`t you let Her Highness sit down?" She then turned to me and bowed her head. "If the princess wishes, this one will have some tea prepared."

　　And here I was hoping there would be none of that this one` stuff. I knew it was supposed to sound humble, even deferential. But to me, it seemed pretentious, talking about yourself in the third person.

　　"Tea sounds good," I answered. Right away, I sensed another servant rushing off. Then I sat down on a plush chair and patted the seat next to it.

　　Xiaodan settled into her place, smiling brightly. But then she stopped and looked at me with a bit of a tremble. "Elder Sister, you went on your soul journey?"

　　"Yes, that`s right. I did."

　　"You visited another world? You were sleeping for so long."

　　You don`t know the half of it. "Yes, I went to Earth. It was great. Maybe you`ll visit it yourself someday. That would be nice, wouldn`t it? I`m glad to know you missed me." I smiled at her teasingly. "But I`m back now."

　　"And & they say you`re different now?"

　　I sighed and looked her in the eyes. "Yes, I am different. I don`t want to try and hide this from you. I`m probably not going to be like the older sister you remember. Not quite, at least. But that just means you have new things to discover about me. And you`ll always be my Little An."

　　She nodded tremulously. "Alright. I would never dare stipulate what Elder Sister should be like."

　　"Hush, none of that now," I chided gently. I laid a hand under her chin and raised it, like they did in novels. "It`s perfectly reasonable that you`d be feeling anxious."

　　That earned me another smile, this one a little firmer.

　　"There, you see? No need to make a sad face." I focused on the feeling I got from her. Unless I was mistaken, she had already reached the second stage of cultivation. Actually, that had to be recent. "And I can tell you`ve made good progress. Well done, Xiaodan."

　　She blushed and her smile gained a few kilowatts. "Thank you! I want to be as strong as you, Big Sister Nari."

　　"And you will be, someday." Just hopefully after I`ve already gotten stronger.

　　"Teacher Mei said you became a genius at age ten. I don`t know if I can do that," she confessed quietly.

　　I glanced at the teacher, who ducked her head. I hadn`t known that, but it made sense. And except for Xiaodan being adorable, I didn`t notice anything out of the ordinary about her or what her relationship with her sister might have been like.

　　"I believe in you," I assured Xiaodan. "But even if you don`t, that`s okay, too. Being fast isn`t always good. And we can`t control what we`re born with, only how we use and develop it. Just keep working hard. The foundation is crucial." I patted her head. "I`m already proud of you, and I`m sure Mother is, too."

　　I hadn`t thought she could smile any more brightly, but this one could probably count as a technique with the power of light and cuteness.

　　"Besides, there are other important things. Not just cultivation or even capability. Strength isn`t everything."

　　The girl scrunched up her face a bit. She probably didn`t hear that sentiment expressed often.

　　"So you just focused on other things since your last breakthrough, and people don`t understand when they say you take too long? Is that why Teacher Ling Ta calls you lazy?"

　　I choked a bit. Luckily, at that moment the tea arrived and I could dodge the question.