Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: My Brothers Aren't Villains!
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Daluh spoke as if he were truly shocked.
"You... why are you grinning like an idiot...?"
Yan looked like words were bubbling up to the back of his throat, but he hurriedly glanced at me and swallowed them down.
Bamper let out an "Oh..." laden with many meanings, his face the picture of refined princely poise.
Calipan slowly lowered the Boing Hammer he'd raised to the heavens and said,
"Bro's acting kinda weird..."
But Mayches paid no mind to their stares and pulled me into a tight hug.
I patted his shoulder a few times as he whispered his thanks, then gently pushed him away as I started to feel suffocated. Mayches let out an "Ah-ha," smiling as he yielded.
I looked around at Mayches and my friends.
Now that it was time to actually do it, my heart was trembling again. I took a deep breath, repeating to myself like a talisman: *Know thyself, and you'll win a hundred battles!*
"If we're talking about this, it's not just regular Jen."
With those words, I began pulling blocks one by one from the container.
And I showed them exactly what kind of Jen this was, beyond the ordinary.
[Give a nickname to the friend on your right.]
[Share one strength of each of your friends.]
[Pick two friends and describe your first impressions of them.]
[If you have a worry you can't tell anyone else?]
[Share the dream you want your friends' support for.]
...It was a mission Jen packed full of carefully selected prompts that Doria and I had written to deepen our friendships.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
His red eyes were fixed blankly in the darkness of the early dawn.
They resembled the jewel from an old song passed down mouth to mouth.
A divine gift that held eerie, wondrous tales of bringing joy to many and death to others.
Shining with a cool, numb glow of its own, yet emanating a strange magic that set the hearts of all who beheld them ablaze.
"Jayhan!"
Someone called out to him. He rolled his eyes toward the garden entrance.
"......"
But he soon realized it. There was no one there.
That person was still lost in the deep absence of a distant future.
"Over there..."
Yet the voice didn't stop. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you asleep?"
Jayhan opened his eyes. His red eyes met directly with lively gray ones.
Aiel flinched in surprise at Jayhan suddenly opening his eyes.
Jayhan looked at Aiel's face, then at the gray hair braided and cascading over her shoulder.
Aiel straightened her bowed waist and brushed her hair behind her back.
"I'm sorry. My brother said even if it looks like you're sleeping, you're not..."
In Aiel's pale hand was a paper folded with creases.
As Jayhan's gaze shifted to it, Aiel smiled awkwardly.
"I thought it might be nice to play a game together."
Jayhan extended his hand.
Understanding, Aiel placed the usage rights on his palm.
Jayhan noticed Aiel flinch awkwardly the moment their hands lightly touched.
"...Want to play a game? Together."
"......"
Jayhan nodded.
Calipan showed us a Jen block that read [Tell a friend something you're grateful for].
"Yan bro, remember that sparring match with Swordsmanship Class B last time?"
"Ah... Yeah, I do. You just put your name on the sparring volunteer list, right?"
"But Class A is small, so everyone had to participate, and if luck was bad, we'd end up with multiples."
Yan crossed his arms and nodded.
Calipan stacked the Jen block on top.
"You wrote my name from start to finish on the list 'cause you didn't wanna do it yourself. Thanks to that, I sparred with twenty-three people in a row. Not a common experience."
What? I, who had been resting my chin on the Boing Hammer and listening contentedly, widened my eyes. You can't just say whatever and slap a "thanks" at the end!
Yan snickered and teased Calipan.
"They all said it was an honor to spar with you."
"There were rumors going around that I was obsessed with sparring."
Whether he'd planned from the start to take a hit while spouting nonsense, Calipan meekly bowed his head toward me.
I swung the Boing Hammer with all my might, full of grievance. But instead of a boing, it only let out a feeble hiss of escaping air.
Calipan's face became one of wondering if he'd really been hit.
"To think there's such power in the world...?"
I was furious.
Not because he'd ignored my strength, but because I could clearly see them deliberately misunderstanding the game's point right from the first wrong button due to Calipan's slip-up.
Are you really delicate-souled boys aged 12 to 16...?
This Jen was a friendship game infused with 100% pure intent for Mayches and his friends.
Of course, I was slinking in like a loach to "spy on the prospective villains' true feelings"... But at its core, it was meant to be touching content like a truth game.
Yet here they were, rioting to twist the missions I'd so carefully made and corrupt the game?
Because of that, my loach plan to gauge how far their blackening had progressed—what stage of their destined events they'd reached—was going awry.
I'm not curious yet about how insanely you've been living at the academy...
No good. I quickly tossed aside the Boing Hammer.
"I wanna join too."
The penalty became choosing between assigning simple tasks or hitting Calipan with the Boing Hammer, instead of my hissing one.
And just one minute into joining the game, I came to understand their hearts a hundred times over.
My drawn mission was [If you have a worry you can't tell anyone else?], and my heart sank.
I alternated glances between Calipan and the Boing Hammer (I couldn't take all the task assignments myself...).
"Aiel, what's your worry? Be honest."
Daluh said with the gentle face of a saint hearing confession.
But laughter dripped from his voice. I averted my eyes from the stares converging on me and said,
"It's... a worry I can't tell anyone else, so how can I say it...?"
"That's true."
Mayches took my side, but I wanted to bite my tongue. With that, the game's direction seemed set...
I fiddled with the Jen block in my hand. Calipan was about to swing the Boing Hammer at Mayches, who offered to take it for me.
Calipan raised the Boing Hammer high.
No time to agonize.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"It's that my!"
"......"
"...brother's friends are scarier than I thought, and that's my worry..."
"......"
"Playing together has made it better than at first, but I want to know more."
With my face beet red, I hurriedly placed the Jen block on top.
I hadn't even lied, but my heart pounded. No, spilling the truth brought an uncontrollable wave of embarrassment.
But my sacrifice clearly broke the ice.
Next up, Calipan hesitated and set the Boing Hammer on the table, then began carefully extracting a Jen block with awkward caution. Definitely a different attitude from before.
The one he drew was [Among the friends here, who do you envy?].
Like I had, Calipan stared piercingly at it, agonizing over whether to say it or not.
"May... Mayches bro."
He spat it out in a mosquito-like voice, then hastily stacked the block.
People, unfamiliar with the suddenly soft atmosphere—like trying to get used to maids singing birthday songs—readjusted their seats.
"Why do you envy Mayches?"
Yan asked.
Calipan, unable to tear his eyes from the Jen block he'd placed as if it were a jump rope, shouted,
"It doesn't say to explain why!"
No one pressed further (the Boing Hammer was still beside Calipan).