The Day the Bastard Apologized
Sorry. Another endlessly boring lecture dragged on today, as always. I blinked slowly, letting the professor’s words wash over me like a sedative. Let me be clear—this wasn’t just any class.
“……So, when facing monsters, the most important thing is to ensure your body doesn’t freeze from the pressure.”
Fucking hell.
“If you’re surrounded by a pack of goblins, calmly cast a wide-area spell to secure an escape route, then use the vanguard’s breakthrough power to—”
Boring.
“The highest-tier monster, the Minotaur, possesses grip strength capable of tearing boulders apart with its bare hands. Unless you have party members with excellent mobility, I strongly advise against engaging it directly……”
It was a lecture, plain and simple.
“Haaam……” I yawned, rubbing my gritty eyes. I was genuinely exhausted. Keeping up with the Academy’s curriculum seemed nearly impossible. They were teaching monster theory and strategies—how the hell was I supposed to know any of this? Of course, Raiden’s knowledge was there, so I technically understood it. But I’d still have to memorize everything for the exams.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just throw my body into it like I did in my last life……
-Slap!
The insane thought had barely formed before I smacked my own cheek. The sharp sting instantly chased away the creeping drowsiness. Fuck. No matter how unfamiliar or tiring this studying felt, it was nothing compared to the daily beatings and pain I once endured. Wanting to go back to that? That was pure bullshit. Absolutely not. No matter what, I was never going back there.
“Haa……” I let out a shallow sigh and touched my tingling cheek. After sorting through those awful thoughts, I lifted my head toward the blackboard again……
“……?”
I realized the professor was staring directly at me. Not just him—the students around me were all glancing in my direction too. The sound of the slap must have been louder than I intended. I’d misjudged the force.
I waved a hand at the professor to signal it was nothing and offered an awkward smile. That was when everyone’s eyes widened.
Ah, right.
This smile came with a petrification effect.
I quickly realized my mistake and wiped the smile from my face. Only then did the professor close his slightly parted mouth and clear his throat.
“Ahem. Please refrain from sudden actions during class, Student Raiden.”
“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”
“……!!!”
-Clack. Clatter.Roll……
The magic chalk slipped from the professor’s hand. He stared at me with a face full of shock. Every student in the room had frozen, mouths hanging open.
Ah. Please. Can we just have class? I was sorry for finding it difficult. I’d listen properly from now on, so could everyone please just……
I prayed silently, but the aftermath of my apology refused to settle.
“Kyaaaaah!!!”
No, why are you taking your pants off, you lunatic?
In the middle of the now-chaotic classroom, I let out a deep sigh.
……Should I just kill myself?
Happiness, purpose—whatever. Jumping one more time didn’t seem like such a terrible option. With this body, I didn’t think I could ever adapt to Academy life anyway.
While I was lost in those gloomy thoughts—
-BOOM!!!
The classroom door suddenly burst open with a deafening crash. The rowdy students’ gazes snapped toward the entrance. Mine did too.
The door, which had been kicked hard enough to nearly shatter, hung crookedly, barely keeping its shape. What the hell? A terrorist attack?
I clenched my fist, ready for anything, only to widen my eyes at the person who came rushing in.
“That’s……”
Wavy, vivid red hair. A slightly disheveled but clearly well-maintained uniform. A cute, cat-like face.
I knew exactly who she was. She occupied a massive portion of Raiden’s memories.
Ariel Lisite. Raiden’s younger sister.
I muttered her name in a dazed voice.
“Ariel…?”
Why are you here?
Her head whipped around. Our eyes met. My black eyes crossed with her crimson ones. Moments later, tears began to pool in her red pupils.
Ariel sprinted toward me and threw herself into my arms.
“Brother…!!”
“Khuk…!?”
The impact sent a jolt of pain through me. I frowned slightly. Damn it. She’d hugged the exact spot where my muscles were sore.
Groaning, I looked down at the girl burying her face in my chest. Ariel was rubbing her tear-streaked face against my uniform.
“……”
What was this all of a sudden? Why had she burst in crying? She could at least explain.
Even so, my hand moved on its own, gently patting her back. Some reflexive action left behind in Raiden’s body, perhaps.
“Hic… Hiccup… Brother…”
“Um, Ariel…?”
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean it. I never once thought—”
This was driving me insane. She seemed completely broken.
Feeling a headache coming on, I raised my hand.
“Professor.”
The dazed professor snapped back to reality. He slapped his own cheeks a few times before answering.
“Y-yes, Student Raiden.”
“Would it be all right if I step out for a moment? My sister suddenly showed up.”
He glanced at Ariel in my arms, then nodded.
“Go ahead. Quickly.”
“Thank you.”
-Clack. Clatter.Roll……
At my polite thanks, the professor dropped the board eraser he was holding. Ah, damn it. Déjà vu. I really shouldn’t have said thank you.
I shook my head. I had no idea what was happening anymore. I led the still-sniffling Ariel out of the classroom.
A small park behind the second building of Reynolds Academy. Right now, the most talked-about pair of siblings in the entire school were sitting there.
One was Raiden Lisite, infamous as the delinquent heir. The other was Ariel Lisite, runner-up of the first-year class and hailed as a prodigy of this generation.
The brother and sister, famous in completely different ways, sat side by side on a bench.
“Hic… Uuu……”
“There, there. You need to stop now. Come on.”
Ariel was sobbing bitterly. Raiden soothed her with practiced ease, wiping her tears with a handkerchief and gently patting her back.
“……Hic.”
“There, there. Blow your nose too. Like this—hng!”
“Hnnng…!!”
“Good girl.”
Raiden smiled softly and stroked her hair. Ariel flinched at first, but soon accepted the touch. The way she purred like a contented cat made the corners of his mouth lift even higher.
After a while, when her sniffles had mostly subsided, Raiden spoke.
“Feeling a little better now?”
“……Yeah.”
“That’s good.”
Silence fell again. Ariel fidgeted with her fingers, clearly anxious, before finally opening her mouth.
“……Brother.”
“Hm?”
She had so many things she wanted to say. But the moment she faced Raiden, her mind went completely blank. She squeezed her frozen thoughts, slowly piecing words together.
“……I’m sorry.”
“Suddenly saying sorry… for what?”
“What I said to you that day, brother… I didn’t mean any of it. I’ve never thought that way, not even once……”
Tears welled up in Ariel’s eyes again.
“Sorry, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean it… I’m so—”
Raiden’s index finger gently pressed against her lips, silencing the endless stream of apologies. The cold touch cooled her trembling mouth.
At his reaction, Ariel felt her heart shatter.
……I was too late.
The words I said can never be taken back. Brother… doesn’t even want to hear my apology. I should have grabbed him when he turned away that day. I should have cried and begged for forgiveness.
……If only I had made a better choice that day.
If I had held onto his sleeve, even his pants leg, to stop him from leaving… would he have forgiven me?
The thought made her tears fall uncontrollably. As she hung her head with reddened eyes, Raiden’s voice reached her ears.
“Ariel.”
It was a gentle voice. His low, calm tone carried clearly on the summer breeze.
“I’m fine. So stop crying.”
Ariel’s eyes flew open. Fine…? Stop crying…?
She had expected condemnation. Contempt. After all, she was the terrible sister who had viciously stabbed her brother’s deepest wound. She thought she deserved to be hated. But he said he was fine. What was he thinking?
Hesitantly, she lifted her head to look at him.
“……!”
When their eyes met—his black, hers red—she was stunned all over again.
A smile. Her brother was smiling. A smile he hadn’t shown even once since everything changed. The smile she had longed for so desperately. It was directed at her.
The overwhelming rush of emotion froze Ariel in place.
Raiden watched her reaction with a brief, unreadable expression, then reached out and tenderly wiped the tears from her cheek. The burning tears cooled beneath his cold fingers.
With that gentle touch, he spoke again.
“……Don’t blame yourself so much, Ariel. I really am okay.”
“B-but……”
“If anyone should apologize, it’s me. I’ve been acting however I wanted all this time… I’m sorry, Ariel.”
Ariel’s mind went blank. She had been certain he would resent her. She had expected eyes full of hatred for the unforgivable words she had spoken. She never imagined he would apologize instead. The boy’s eyes, filled with warmth as he offered comfort, were shining with a kindness she had almost forgotten.
In a situation so different from anything she had imagined, Ariel had a fleeting thought.
……Is this a dream?
A sweet dream showing her everything she had wished for. The kind of dream that would leave her crying in emptiness the moment she woke up.
She felt afraid. If this was a dream, she didn’t think she could bear the despair of waking.
“Brother……”
But her fears proved unnecessary. The sunlight pouring down from above. The breeze brushing her cheek. The faint summer scent in the air. The cool touch of the hand against her skin. All of it told her this moment was real.
Ariel could no longer hold back the surge in her chest. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. But these tears were completely different from before. They held no fear, no sadness, no self-loathing. Only joy. Pure, overflowing joy.
“Aigo… Stop crying already……”
“Brother… Brother…!”
“Yes, yes. Brother’s right here.”
Ariel buried herself in his arms once more. This time, the boy didn’t push her away. He simply held her quietly, patting her slender back. Feeling that warm, steady comfort, Ariel closed her eyes.
Ariel’s trembling body finally grew still.
“Ariel…?”
When I looked down, she was breathing softly with her eyes closed. The tension must have finally drained away, and she had fallen asleep.
I held her carefully and straightened her rumpled clothes.
“……”
The faint sound of her breathing near my ear. The warm body heat against my chest. The soft texture of red hair brushing my fingertips.
So this was what having a little sister felt like. It was like a hot summer wind rushing into a cold, empty cave.
I cradled the small life in my arms more gently and slowly stroked her cheek.
“……You’re cute.”
When she first came running in tears to apologize, I had been completely flustered. Because I wasn’t Raiden. I was Kim Naru. Her apology wasn’t something I had any right to answer.
But the emotions rising from deep inside my chest had forced my hand. The feelings Raiden had held for Ariel were nothing but affection and regret. Not even the slightest trace of resentment existed within them.
It was as if the parts of Raiden that had already disappeared were whispering to me. Asking me to embrace this lonely child in his place.
That was why I could forgive her.
“Yeah, that’s all fine… but what do I do about this…?”
It had already been an hour since we left the classroom. The lecture would be ending soon.
“Hmm……”
I couldn’t just leave her here. If I took her to the dormitory, her personal maid would handle the rest.
I carefully lifted the sleeping Ariel onto my back.
“Uuuu… Brother……”
Even in her dreams, she clutched tightly at my clothes. I smiled and began walking slowly.
. . .
“Ugh…!!”
I stretched as I left the dormitory. The men’s and women’s dorms were separate, so I got a little lost, but I managed to deliver Ariel safely.
The current time was 4 p.m. Two hours had already passed since then.
I had ditched the Understanding Monsters lecture halfway through. The History of the Continent class I was supposed to attend at 3 p.m. was already an hour late. If I went to the classroom now, it would be 4:30. Since class ended at 5, there was no point. Might as well skip it entirely.
“Hmm… In that case……”
I stretched my still-stiff body and called up the status window.
“Status window, display the main quest.”
Bolstering Our Forces
📍 Objective: Proceed to the designated location.
📌 Map Attached: Click to view details
🎁 Reward: ??????
⚠ Failure Penalty: None
⏳ Time Limit: 3 days
⏰ Remaining Time: 56 hours 34 minutes 12 seconds
I had originally planned to go after class ended, but since I’d skipped, I needed to handle this quickly. Checking the map displayed in the status window, I began walking toward the Academy gates.