As I walked through the front door of the house I'm living in, I looked at my phone. Six after noon, huh? I guess we still have plenty of time… I thought to myself as I sunk into the couch. "I'm home!" I announced, just to make sure my sister is aware.

"Oh, welcome back! Hang on a sec…" I heard her voice come from her room upstairs, on the other side of the staircase from where mine was. "Take your time! I don't mind resting up a bit first!" I replied, lying down on the couch, fiddling with my phone. Not that there's much I could do with this, though…

After a while, my sister came running down the steps, her usual side tail fluttering behind her. "Didn't expect you to be home this quickly," she said. Instead of her usual lazy T-shirt attire, she was wearing a white one-piece outfit, with a modest number of frills.

"Ready to go, then? You're back earlier than I thought, so we could wander around a bit more."

"Sure, let's go." She had promised to take me around the city after I came back from the institute. Despite having been living here for almost a month now, I haven't had the chance to explore the larger, more metropolitan areas yet. I wonder how we'll get around, though? Now that I think about it, there weren't any cars or anything like that…

We headed out of the house, and onto the main road, heading towards the opposite direction from the institute. "Hmm… where should I take you… honestly, there's nothing special, I guess just some simple explanations on which areas sell what kind of stuff should be enough… then we can get some dinner before heading back home? I haven't eaten out in forever!"

Well, at least she sounds like she's having fun. I was worried it'd be a chore for her, given how she likes to laze around at home. As we continued on, we eventually arrived at a building that had a markedly different design from any that I've seen. For one thing, it was circular. Is this… what I think it is? Outwardly, it looked like a giant lift, but given there was nothing above, nor was there likely to be anything below us, could it be…

"Here we are, the Teleport Station!" I knew it, I thought the design looked somewhat familiar… "There are several destinations, but ours is this one," my sister pointed at the middle, largest teleporter. "This one leads to the main city on this side of the planet, Fleur! Let's go!"

Stepping into the structure, I was briefly blinded by a flash of light, and, as the light receded, I was greeted by a slightly different version of the interior of the building I was in. We popped out on the left-most teleporter this time around. Well, at least that'll be easy to remember.

When we stepped out of the building, the surroundings were entirely different from my neighborhood. There were a lot more people, tall skyscrapers, everything that would give one the impression that this was "the big city". The roads were much larger and wider, and this time, there were vehicles running along the large roads. The roads and buildings generally maintained a grid-like structure, although there was the occasional circular crossings, like those you'd see in metropolitan areas in Japan.

"The place is huge and all, but everything's spread out fairly evenly, so there should be a place for everything nearby. If you get lost, there's always the directories," my sister said, gesturing at a gray, rectangular plaque on the side of the road. "For now, I'll show you the stores I usually go to, then we can go grab a bite!"

Even though she said that, in the end she led me into a large building with multiple stores housed in it, like a department store, or a mall. It had grocery stores, clothing stores, and even a food court at the top-most level. Given her character, I suppose that was to be expected – she was living alone before I came along, so she probably didn't see the need to explore around too much if it was just for herself. Or, maybe she was just too lazy and couldn't be bothered.

"…I can tell what you're thinking, you know?" she said, staring holes at my face. Oops. Was it too obvious? "Well, I thought I'd take you to a fancier place to eat tonight, to welcome both my new little brother and to celebrate your first day at the institute!"

"Wow sounds great. Let's go!" The walking around had already gotten me hungry, so it was perfect timing on my end. We went up towards the highest level of the building, but instead of going towards the food court, we went into one of the stores along the side of the level. Huh doesn't seem too fancy on the outside… but that sure smells really good.

As we stepped in, I looked around the restaurant, noting the posh yet simple interior. The walls were mainly a velvet red, with the occasional gold décor. The place had an air of regality to it – it was definitely in stark contrast to the rowdy and lively food court. Well, that's what I get for judging a book by its cover. It does make the experience more worthwhile, though. Makes me feel like I just discovered a hidden gem.

As we sat on a small table for two, across each other, I had a look at the menu. Hmm, the animal and menu names are all foreign to me, this is tough… oh right, what about the price? Let's see here… five thousand meseta for a dish… and that's one of the cheapest options?! That's… quite pricey, alright. I could've gotten two meals back home with the equivalent amount of money. That being said, the value of meseta here doesn't seem to be equivalent to the one I know of…

"Don't hold back, it's a once-in-a-while opportunity! I definitely won't!" my sister beamed at me. Well, I guess she does make quite a bit, so why not? I have my own… personal coffer too, anyways.

"What are you getting?" I asked her.

"Hmm… I'm feeling like some fish, maybe. You?"

"I'm not sure… maybe some meat?"

"Oh, right, you're not familiar with the types of food here, huh? Here, try this one. Looks good, it's basically a slab of meat cooked and seasoned with sauce."

Isn't that literally steak? Looking around the menu a bit more, the amount of food served seemed quite sizeable. Compared to the size of the cutlery in the images, they weren't being cheap with the portions being served. Well, why not? Steak sounds great, and I'm willing to bet she can help me finish it off if I can't.

She flagged down a waiter and placed our orders. It seemed the process of asking for food in a restaurant was pretty much the same to what I was used to. Although it seemed here, you would pay immediately as soon as the food arrived. The waiter took our order, and we were left to our own devices once more.

"So, how was your first day at the institute? Any problems, and friends?"

"No problems, and I met two people. Both CASTS. Pretty colourful characters, too. They're taking different practical courses, and I'm really looking forward to those."

"Sounds like you're enjoying yourself, that's sounds great. Well, just don't push yourself too hard. It's going to be one hell of a trip, with you taking both practical courses."

"I'll try to reel myself in," I laughed. "Oh, is that ours?"

The waiter approached our table, with our food on silver trays. As I was about to take out some money to pay, my sister beat me to it. "Nope, my treat this time. This is a celebration for me as much as it is for you! I've always wanted to try the food here, but never really saw the point in going in alone." I was thankful, but I also felt kind of bad. After all, I was richer than her. By several orders of magnitude, too…

As I looked at the food in front of me, I was taken aback. This looks… really good! Wow, this is probably the plumpest and juiciest piece of steak I've seen in my life. I wondered if it was because of the wildlife and/or livestock here. I didn't even know if they had livestock, or if this was hunted game. Across from me, my sister was already digging into her food. Her eyes were closed, and she had the goofiest but happiest expression on her face. That good, huh?

I cut off a piece off my steak and put it in my mouth. It was… pure bliss. The steak had just the right level of toughness, enough to apply pressure on my teeth, but not enough for it to feel tough. The juices flowing out was savory and maybe a tad bit too salty, but I enjoyed my salty foods, so it was an all-win for me. I can't blame her for having an expression like that after eating this…

We devoured our food in no time flat. This is bad… if I have food this good on my first time eating out, my standards will be way too high! "Worth. Every. Bit. Eating stuff like that just makes me want dessert. You want some too? We could stop by the grocery store we passed by earlier and shop for some snacks," my sister asked, leaning back on her chair. She sure doesn't mind her appearances, even in a public place like this, huh? Guess that's her off-work mood for you.

"Sure, I'm up for that. That was some great food, though. Maybe a bit more than what I was expecting, my brain's shutting down."

"Haha, I know exactly how you feel. Let's go, then, before we fall asleep and get kicked out."

We both stood up, thanked the waiter who served us, and left the restaurant. By the time we got home, it was dark out, and we both immediately retired into our bedrooms.

Now, I wonder what tomorrow will bring…? Having something to look forward to sure is a great feeling. I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep.

That's the end of the first Interlude! I've decided that the first flashback chapter will be right after this one. It will answer a few questions, such as how our protagonist got himself an elder sister, how they met, and of course, who that elder sister actually is!