Seven years after that banquet...
In the garden of Arendelle King's Castle.
"Why is it still not working? It's been seven years, system!"
El grumbled, sitting on the swing in the garden with eyes closed, murmuring to himself.
In fact, he was staring at the prompt in his mind.
"Why hasn't that one percent moving at all?"
El sighed.
Since the system said it needed to rest, it had been in this state.
Two years ago, it was at ninety-nine percent, and then, just like it had encountered a bug, it completely stopped.
Not only did it drain his magic, but it also disappeared, making him check the progress every morning and always met with disappointment.
He continued swinging alone, trying to forget about it.
"El! Where are you?"
A sweet voice called out.
"Ah! I found you. You're always here on the swing, thinking by yourself. You've been hiding here like this since two years ago."
A girl's voice complained, but there was a hint of joy. Then, a cute little girl entered the garden—a small girl with brown hair, wearing a light yellow dress and little yellow shoes.
"Anna, did you sneak out again from Miss Filly's etiquette class? Be careful, or Father will catch you and scold you again."
El said, still with his eyes closed. He could tell who it was just by the sound of the voice.
Anna was born the second year after Elsa and him, and she was six years old now, just a year younger than them.
He had complained a long time back then about how his father managed to have a kid just one year later.
"Hmph! Father wouldn't do that. He's always been good to me since I was little, even more than he is to you and Elsa."
Anna said, scrunching her cute little nose.
"Alright, alright, you're the favorite, I won't argue with you."
El chuckled.
'Of course, you've always been the most mischievous since you were little. Elsa was much better behaved than you.'
"By the way! Where's Elsa? Is she still in Miss Filly's etiquette class? Isn't she already very good?"
He asked with confusion.
"Hmph! Do you think it's the same for everyone as it is for you? After only a short amount of time in class, Teacher Filly said there's nothing more she can teach you, and she even praised you for being so smart that you learn right away!"
Anna replied, clearly displeased.
He could only smile and say nothing in response. He wasn't sure if it was due to the system's changes, but his memory and learning abilities were good.
No matter what he tried to learn, he picked it up super fast, making both Queen Iduna and King Agnarr really like him.
Because of this, Elsa worked so hard to study, never wanting to relax, and she was determined to be as good as him.
Their parents didn't say anything about it, but seeing their hardworking little ones made them feel deeply proud and satisfied.
"Are you really not going back to study? If Miss Filly finds out and tells Father, you might be in trouble."
El said kindly as he looked at Anna sitting on the swing.
As soon as she arrived, she pushed him off the swing and took it for herself, looking smug.
What was he supposed to do about it?
Of course, he played the gentleman and let her have it as a big brother.
"Don't mention it. I've already studied for half the day. It's fine if I sneak out to play for a bit."
Anna pouted after hearing this.
"Alright, alright. You can play here on your own, I'll head back first."
El said, shaking his head as he looked at the stubborn little girl.
"Wait a minute..."
"Hmm?"
He turned around, looking at the little girl with a puzzled expression.
Then, El noticed that Anna had stopped swinging at some point. She was holding her little dress, her head lowered, looking like she had something to say.
"What's wrong?"
He chuckled lightly.
Seeing her like this, El knew she was probably asking for something—otherwise, why would she be acting shy like that?
Anna hesitated for a moment, then looked up at him and said, "I want to see that cool thing you do... the one that can make ice."
'So, this is what she wants?'
El thought to himself.
Thinking about it gave him a headache again.
He had really seen how useless his system was.
Not only did it drain his natural magic, but in the end, it gave him the magic ability to control ice, and it was just a low-tier magic.
He couldn't even tell if the system's changes had given him any real advantage.
This low-tier magic had taken him six whole years to fully master. Moreover, since his body was still a child's, he didn't have much magic stored up and could only make an ice spike.
He still remembered the commotion it caused when he finally completed his training...
...
FLASHBACK
"Ugh! Just a little more... what kind of crappy system is this? It took six years just to master a low-tier magic!"
El complained while training.
'Who even has a system like this?'
"BOOM!"
Then, a massive sound echoed through the air, startling everyone, including his parents and little Elsa.
'What happened?'
El had finally finished learning the ice magic but lost control and accidentally froze the whole garden!
He still clearly remembered the look of disbelief in King Agnarr's eyes, followed by the gaze he gave him and Elsa, filled with determination.
At the time, Anna wasn't aware of what had happened because she had failed her etiquette class and had to study with Miss Filly.
But after she returned, she heard the servants whispering about it, and she ran over super fast to ask what happened.
She kept begging and bugging everyone until even King Agnarr, who was trying to keep it a secret, finally gave in.
He then gathered the three of them together and explained the strange phenomena surrounding Elsa's and El's births.
This left both Anna and Elsa surprised, while El remained completely calm.
After that, Anna got super excited and really wanted to see her big brother and sister use their magic but was stopped.
The reason was that magic couldn't be used recklessly unless it was fully mastered, and El and Elsa weren't yet at that point.
No matter how much Anna begged, King Agnarr didn't give in.
This made the little Anna sulk for a while... but eventually, she stopped caring about it.
She remained very curious about magic, often pestering Elsa with questions, and the sisters grew closer because of it.
"Why did you suddenly want to see my ice magic today?"
He asked, trying to act calm on the outside while thinking on the inside.
Then, it seemed like he remembered something…