Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Bandit Group (4)
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The moon hung high in the night sky.
Knock knock—
"Ariel."
I waited in front of my little sister's door.
Rustling sounds came from inside.
"Why. Brother."
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah."
I opened the door and stepped inside. Ariel was sitting demurely on her bed.
Her snow-white hair draped down, just as it always did.
As if she hadn't engaged in any strenuous activity.
"Did you sleep alone okay today?"
"Yeah."
"You didn't go outside?"
"Yeah. I was here the whole time."
We exchanged idle chatter as I sat down beside Ariel.
She looked up at me with her bright, sparkling eyes.
On the surface, she seemed completely fine.
In truth, I wouldn't have noticed a thing if Bern hadn't acted so strangely.
What kind of lunatic brother suspects his own little sister?
But there was no way I could let it slide.
"Ariel."
"Yeah."
"Nothing you're hiding from your brother?"
I cut straight to the chase.
I didn't bring up anything about leaves getting stuck like last time.
Her defenses weren't that easy to breach with cheap tricks.
And when it came to serious matters, I had no desire to joke around.
"……."
Ariel's expression remained unchanged.
She simply stared at me, devoid of any reaction.
What thoughts swirled in those clear eyes of hers?
Was she wondering why I'd caught on? Or pondering how to cover it up?
I let out a soft sigh and placed my hand on Ariel's head.
I lifted her chin lightly and gave her hair a gentle stroke.
"If you don't want to talk, you don't have to."
I coaxed her softly.
I hadn't come here to raise my voice.
I just wanted some confirmation.
"No matter what you do, your brother will support you. I just want to hear about certain parts. Can you tell me honestly?"
"……Yeah."
Ariel hid nothing more after that.
She lowered her head slightly and mumbled.
It was her way of surrendering. She knew I already had it all figured out.
I continued calmly to keep her from getting scared.
"Why'd you act on your own? You've never done that much before. You went to the bandits alone and took out two of them. Wanna tell me comfortably?"
Ariel fidgeted with her fingers.
It was so subtle that anyone without my sharp eyes wouldn't have noticed.
"……I was worried you'd be in danger, brother."
"Why?"
"You were going to fight those guys. So I helped to keep you from getting hurt."
"I had no intention of fighting."
"Liar. You fight whenever it's necessary. I know all about it. That's why I went ahead."
"Hmm."
I had nothing to say to that.
In truth, I had steeled myself for a fight during the tracking.
This made me feel like my little sister understood me better than I did myself.
I ruffled her hair proudly for no reason.
"Yeah. You've grown up knowing exactly what your brother thinks."
"Yeah."
"But did you really need to take action first to protect me? We could've gone together."
"……I figured you wouldn't take me along."
"Yeah, that's true."
Then again, taking Ariel along would be ridiculous.
Whether she was the world's strongest or not, to me, she was just my seven-year-old little sister.
And no brother in his right mind drags a sister like that to face bandits.
"Plus, I wanted to protect you without you having to lift a finger."
But this part was harder to grasp.
"You didn't want me getting involved?"
"Yeah. You could've gotten hurt once the fighting started. No, you definitely would've. I didn't want that to happen."
"Hmm."
Definitely would've gotten hurt, huh.
Yeah, probably. No idea how strong the bandits were, but they weren't opponents a twelve-year-old boy could take lightly.
That had nothing to do with my talent as the world's second-best. Talent alone couldn't cover everything in life-or-death real combat.
'This is tricky.'
Alright. I understood everything.
Ariel's logic was airtight. Every single point was backed by solid reasoning.
And all of it was for my sake.
The reason she'd acted alone on her own initiative was entirely because she was thinking of her brother.
I got that. I really did.
"Ariel."
"Yeah."
"If I were a bird, would you want to let me fly free? Or keep me locked in a cage?"
"……."
Ariel didn't answer that question.
Yeah. That was the part that felt off and worried me.
To my little sister, I was an extraordinarily special existence.
I was her whole world, the reason for her life, the only person she'd ever opened her heart to.
Even so, up until now, Ariel had expressed it in a way that wasn't overbearing.
She'd watch me train from afar or come running to beg for attention whenever I had free time.
She kept her feelings within 'normal' bounds.
But things were different now.
'She deliberately went ahead and handled it herself.'
This wasn't something I could just praise her for doing a good job.
Ariel's actions carried a certain... otherworldliness.
An attitude that no normal person would unconsciously adopt was seeping out.
The attitude of protecting the one she loved.
The attitude of keeping others from touching the one she loved.
The attitude of wanting to monopolize the one she loved.
That was what worried me.
"I'm not trying to scold you for your actions. It was a decision you made after plenty of thought. As your brother, I respect that. It's something that can happen plenty during growth."
"Yeah."
"But Ariel, your brother is a person. He has free will. You don't need to handle everything for him, and you shouldn't. If you try, I'll get mad."
"……Yeah."
"Yeah. You did great. Our little sister."
I finished up by ruffling her hair wildly.
The neatly combed strands flew every which way.
She could've complained, but Ariel just quietly accepted it.
Maybe she felt my sincerity. She was being so good.
"……Then."
Ariel mumbled at that moment.
"Then, instead of letting you do whatever you want, can I help with the parts I can?"
"Huh?"
"Can I protect you as long as it doesn't get in your way?"
Ariel's eyes sparkled as she asked.
As if confirming whether she'd understood right.
'Haa.'
I realized it then.
Our little sister still had a long way to go before she could be called normal.
Well, what could I do? Guiding a sister was a brother's responsibility.
She was still growing, so I had to teach her well.
"Yeah. Do whatever you want. That much should be fine."
"……Yeah!"
Only then did Ariel seem satisfied as she buried her face in my body.
Rub rub—the soft touch of her cheek pressed against me.
And so, I played with Ariel for a little while.
After putting her to sleep, I headed not to my room, but somewhere else.
The family head's chambers.
Where my father was.
"Things got resolved in an unexpected way."
Father said as he sat there.
He slightly raised his gaze from the documents to look at me.
"The bandits' deaths. Their sudden surrender. And the children were released unharmed. Do you know why, Kline?"
"Sorry. I have my guesses, but it's awkward to say it myself."
"……."
Father didn't press me on it.
"If you say so, then that's that."
He dropped the subject entirely.
I was the one who ended up flustered.
"You're not curious? About why everything worked out so perfectly?"
"What good would curiosity do? You judged it resolved well and decided not to reveal the reason."
"Not worried?"
"I trust you. You've raised Ariel well up until now. Age aside, my son's judgment is plenty reliable."
"Haha."
What tremendous praise.
I shrugged and took a moment to gather my thoughts.
I'd been worried I might have to bring up Ariel's oddities, but it looked like that wouldn't be necessary.
I knew our sister was a bit strange, Father knew it, and pretty much everyone in the world knew it—but I still didn't want to say it myself.
"By the way, they mentioned something strange."
"Strange? What?"
"They said they were commissioned by one person. Apparently, similar commissions went to other bandit groups too."
"You mean the one who pays for kidnapping kids?"
"Exactly."
Hmm.
That guy does seem suspicious.
A mysterious criminal shelling out huge sums to bandits.
I didn't think it was just some simple villain.
My gut told me it was a villain from [Shardia Academy].
'Can't mention that yet.'
Vampires still weren't officially recognized in this world.
Even if I told Father now, he wouldn't buy it.
"Not something for you to worry about. We'll report it to the Empire and have them investigate. Clues will turn up. Now go rest."
"Ah. Father. There's something else I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Next year, the 'Cluster of Stars' salon is happening in the capital. I want to go."
"What?"
Father's eyes widened for the first time in a while.
He stared at me as if it were the last thing he'd expected.
"I thought you had no interest in that sort of thing."
"Yeah. The salon itself doesn't interest me. Meeting young ladies isn't exactly urgent either."
"Then what's the reason?"
"There's someone I need to meet in the capital."
I smirked as one person came to mind.
The prophet of the capital.
The one who called Ariel a calamity and foretold her birth.
I planned to meet him.
'Ariel is definitely heterogeneous.'
My little sister wasn't human.
I knew that.
But lately, I'd gotten the sense that her jagged edges were starting to stick out more.
Because the girl who'd been so obedient until now had begun acting on her own.
I believed there was a clear reason for it.
And to find out what it was...
'Let's meet, you prophet bastard.'
I had to confront the guy who'd dared call my perfectly fine little sister a calamity.