Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Pitiful Big Sister
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Hearing the words from above her head, Aila cast her gaze into the darkness ahead.
A cave with no exit.
The single path ahead admitted no light, but her senses—sharper than mere eyesight—detected an overwhelming.
"Yes, I'm ready."
"Yes. Sister."
"No. It is. This will do."
Aila equipped Black Crystal across the knuckles and palms of both fists, her knife hands, then her elbows, knees, insteps and soles. And finally, her forehead.
She'd been deeply inspired watching Peepy unleash "Peep Punch No. 1."
Someday, she wanted to throw a punch like that herself.
To be precise, not just a punch—she imagined wrapping both arms and legs in Black Crystal for something even cooler...
Anyway, ever since, Aila had trained alone, fusing her Black Crystal with the Trista-style self-defense arts renowned for their "speed" and "precision." Today was the debut demonstration.
A plain ranged mage couldn't win here.
So she would pull out every trick she had.
"Yes. A mage. But now I cover close range too."
"Yes."
From the distance came a screeeeech! as goblins charged.
Grotesque forms. Her fists trembled faintly.
Stay calm. Aila Trista.
She'd hunted goblins several times on expeditions with her father.
But now, she was alone.
No father. No Wolfram, the one she trusted most.
How to conquer this fear?
"...Hoo."
She exhaled deeply.
Just moments ago, during the strategy session, she'd whined to Wolfram.
'What if I get too scared to move my arms or legs?'
'Then shout this loud. It'll help.'
Not a magic incantation, but Wolfram swore it worked.
So Aila did just that—shouting the magic words he'd given her as she unleashed her fist.
"Gal! Rieyo!"
"Kyieeeek!"
The iron fist hammered the goblin's skull, oxidizing it into the air.
Normally, green blood would have sprayed, but as a dragon-mana illusion, there was no gruesome sight to behold—a small mercy.
"......Keeek."
"Kiiik......"
Yet even these illusory goblins couldn't hide their shock at their comrade vaporized by a mage's punch.
"Next!"
Aila crooked a finger, and soon she clashed with the goblins.
"Hmm."
She's fighting well.
No, really well. Better than I'd imagined.
Watching the footage Filtia had projected, I sank into thought for a moment.
A goblin lunged; she sidestepped flawlessly and smashed its forehead with a palm strike. Its neck snapped, and it oxidized on the spot.
"...What the heck is Aila...?"
"......"
That's my question.
"W-Woah, I was planning to mess with big sis by watching Aila struggle... but why's she fighting so well...?"
"Hmm... So that's your plan."
How could she be so ruthless? Is she secretly an evil dragon?
I shot Filtia a look, and she averted her eyes before puffing out her cheeks and glaring back.
"Si-Since little bro and Eila gang up to bully big sis, doesn't big sis need her own countermeasures?"
"......Big sis."
"...Ugh."
Filtia mumbled that and looked away.
I mean, I knew her character was like this.
She starts off pretending to be this scary, dangerous dragon, but poke a little and she's ridiculously fragile and insecure.
I've cleared her route how many times? No way I'd miss that.
The reasons you die a ton in her route boil down to two big ones.
First: going against her feelings while she's in "dangerous dragon" mode.
Once you're in her route and affection's up, deaths drop off.
She approached me calculating that, to her eyes, I'm Hark's heir—her real little brother—so she won't kill me.
The other? Dying while tackling the Gate of the Demon Realm.
She has more bad ends than anyone, dies like crazy, but get close and she grumbles while showering you with gifts.
That's kinda cute.
Eve has her Eve squad. Regina's got that incomprehensible cluster of personality-wrecked weirdos, the Regina squad. Isolde's got her "Isolde squad"—self-proclaimed guards—but honestly, those girls were clearable in a first playthrough, so they overwhelm with numbers. The Filtia squad? All second playthrough+ veterans who'd cleared the Gate of the Demon Realm.
For them to ditch the first-route heroines and pick Filtia? There had to be a reason.
"Well then. Time to start my trial."
"...Uh, r-right? Hold on. Lemme prepare real quick?"
"Mm."
With that, Filtia stepped out, and I watched Aila's battle while lost in thought.
The dragon trial's intelligence test wasn't much different from last time's mini-game.
Higher difficulty, more questions, a few extra trick ones—that was it.
Now, my head's stocked with roughly a thousand Q&As from this dragon's trials.
Bring it.
Filtia Bluebreeze!
Right on cue—as if reading my mind—she opened a portal of rippling blue mana and reappeared.
"...Ahem. Ready, pupil? It's time for teacher's special lesson."
"......"
"Wh-Why the face?"
"No, what's with the outfit?"
Filtia had donned a professor's suit—the kind the faculty wore—pointer in her right hand, staring this way.
To put it plainly:
Female teacher cosplay.
"W-Well... the book said boys lose their minds over this kinda thing?"
"......"
"Ahem. Student Wolfram. Teacher's about to administer a special exam. Prepared?"
"Ready whenever."
"Great. Hehe. First question, then. Twenty items total. Ace 'em all to pass the dragon's trial."
"Gotta get every one right?"
Filtia nodded.
That's weird.
In the original, 15 out of 20 was enough... No. Don't think about it.
"Not confident?"
"As if. I've got answers for anything you throw."
"Oh? Cocky, aren't we?"
"Good. Let's begin."
"Alright. First question. In his youth, Papa rode a dragon and unleashed barrage magic, earning the moniker 'Dragon-Victory Demon God.' The dragon he rode was..."
"Langris Bluebreeze. Filtia sis's father."
"......"
"Not right?"
Filtia flushed beet red, puffed her cheeks, and slapped her palms together.
Correct, but she hates admitting it?
"Its name! Langris Bluebreeze! Then—the battlefield where he lost Langris Bluebreeze?"
Ah.
This one's not in the book.
Hmm. Fine. Twisting it since she won't concede the point, huh.
Sigh.
"Yudra Plateau."
"......Ugh. Uuu."
Filtia’s eyes welled up with tears.
What.
Think I can't handle something not in the "question book," just buried in side settings?
Seriously?
"Next."
"Th-Then, next question. Among the ninety-nine magic swords Papa wielded, the seventy-second was..."
"Yeowol Cheonjo's magic sword."
"......Yeowol Cheonjo's magic sword. Its effect is..."
"Sword cry erodes the enemy's mind."
"Sword cry that erodes the mind, yes. Jewels embedded in its scabbard. How many?"
"Thirty-nine."
"......U-Uuu...... Uh...... Co... correct..."
Filtia's fists trembled with frustration.
I get it, kinda.
Passing a dragon's trial puts massive strain on the dragon.
And the reward? They pretty much have to grant whatever you ask.
"Next."
"...R-Right. Next question. Jefrin's northern reaches, at the POW camp snowfield entrance—the shortest path piercing the illusions to the Ice Queen's fortress?"
Hmm.
This one needs some thought.
"Hehe, no clue, right little bro? Give up and..."
"Dong-dong-seo-buk-nam-buk-buk-seo."
"...Cor-rect."
Guess so.
The non-bug answer's gotta be it?
Aila lightly shook her stiffening shoulders.
"Kroooooh......"
The troll she'd just felled vanished. No telling what came next, but Wolfram had told her to stick to physical combat up to this point.
"Hoo. Great practice. This'll help tons against Regina."
Alright. Magic time now.
A roar echoed from afar; Aila nodded.
"Kwaaaaaang!!!"
"Ogre next? ...First time seeing one for real."
Honestly, a mage brawling an ogre up close? Absurd.
Fast. Tough. Even Aila could be in danger.
But...
'Ogre next, then metallic wolf. Crystal salamander last.'
'Tough monsters... Can I win?'
'You can.'
'...How can you say that?'
'Aila. Where are we? Check the terrain.'
'This cave?'
'Crystal cave. Get it?'
'......Ah!'
'Sharp. Strategy's this...'
Aila beamed.
Just as picking a fight with Eve von Loengrin in broad daylight was folly, magic shone brightest in favorable terrain.
In other words, Aila Trista grew stronger in ore-rich lands.
And this crystal cave? Aila Trista's personal stage.
"Let's do this."
Fifteen magic circles materialized behind Aila.
Four apiece latched to the ceiling, side walls, and floor. The remaining eleven zipped forward.
Four mined crystals. Eleven loaded up.
"If I don't waste mana crafting crystals, I can fire nonstop. Makes me an invincible turret, basically."
Aila crooked her finger.
"Kiiiiiieeeek!!"
The distant ogre—never even closing in—burst apart.
"Hehe. Power of bonds! Scream now! Fear our jet-black rebellion!"
It wasn't just Wolfram's intel.
Mana drain that'd normally hurt? Recovered. Magic? Buffed. Fire rate? Faster.
A pendant from her fiancé gleamed at her chest.
Watching Aila's fight made my chest swell.
Like botting auto-hunt in those old uncle games, right from your chair.
Aila solo-botting? Terrifying.
Hit a person with that? Not just shredded—something cataclysmic.
Not that I'd ever take a hit, but her projectiles radiated pure dread.
"Th-That kid... what is she...?"
Filtia stared blankly at me, arms dangling limp, eyes hollow—no energy left even to speak.
Yeah. Crystal salamander's no issue.
And neither am I.
"Alright, Filtia sis."
"Uh... yeah?"
"Time to wrap this up. Last question."
"......Ugh. Fine... Last one it is."
Filtia sighed deeply.
Difficulty ramped up, but I nailed 'em all.
Last one's what? Felt like legit mode.
Questions pulling from my mental lore compendium, not the book.
Hit me.
"When was big sis's first love?"
"Hmm."
Deeply personal.
Only know by dissecting character lore.
"Hehe. No idea...? Big sis wins."
"Never."
"!?"
"Filtia Bluebreeze's never had a first love."
"Ah...... ugh."
Vicious question, sure.
But that all ya got?
Think I can't nail it?
Know why the Filtia squad ditched first-route heroines?
Your three centuries without even a first love? Hits 'em right in the feels.
No dating, no crush, yet strutting as "big sis"? Adorbs.
Done.
"Correct?"
"...........Yes."
"Barely heard that."
"Cor......"
"Hm?"
"Cor......rect. It... is."
Yeah.
Figured.
Aila's voice rang from afar.
"H-Huu... Ueng......"
Filtia burst into tears.
We'd cleared the trial.