Dyna McLane's Investigation Log (1)
Lately, strange rumors about her little brother had begun to reach Dyna's ears.
A country brother and sister whose parents had died early.
When they were young, the timid Daniel who always trailed after her calling "Sis, Sis!" and Dyna, his reliable older sister.
They'd always been together in their rural village, but once Dyna took the Aeos Academy entrance exam on the village chief's recommendation, their time together dwindled.
She'd been somewhat relieved when she heard that Daniel was transferring into the academy as a third-year during a stretch when they only saw each other over breaks.
But then rumors started circulating that the kid was some trashy punk who went around seducing girls.
At first she naturally didn't believe it.
He wasn't the type like Ares who relied on his good looks to sprinkle charm on every girl he met. He was so timid he could barely talk to any girl besides Rin and his sister.
She'd figured that whoever was spreading these weird rumors would get a few good punches if she ever caught them.
But she couldn't deny the cold sweat that had started running down her back at the sights she'd been catching lately.
"What the hell is that?"
Lunchtime.
Most fifth-years around this time were preparing so hard for their graduation exams that their sweat might as well turn to blood, so they usually just grabbed a quick bite. But for Dyna, who planned to take a job at the Dragon's Border where she'd done her last practical exam once she graduated, it wasn't much of a problem.
The rough physical work suited her surprisingly well.
Anyway.
Dyna sat eating in the cafeteria, staring blankly at Daniel off in the distance.
Surrounded by girls of every kind.
At first she'd thought it was just a coincidence, but once became twice, twice became three times, and Dyna recognized the situation was serious.
Did the kid suddenly start giving off pheromones or something?
Or had he learned something from Ares?
It was an extremely busy time, but as his older sister she couldn't just look the other way. So Dyna McLane grabbed a notebook and pen.
"Hey, you little shit!"
Dyna kicked the door open and stormed into Ares's room, swinging the wooden sword in her hand with a menacing air.
Ares, who'd been sitting at his desk studying, jumped up in shock at the sudden arrival.
"W-what's going on, Sis?"
"You taught our Daniel how to pick up girls, didn't you! I told you clearly. If our Daniel goes down a weird path, it's your fault!"
Ares was the prime suspect for corrupting Daniel.
In Dyna's mind she was already certain Ares had led Daniel astray, but Ares shook his head, trembling.
"N-no! If anything, I don't hang around with girls anymore! The ones who used to follow me around—Daniel stole them!"
"......What?"
Daniel had seduced the girls who liked Ares?
From Dyna's perspective, that was nothing short of shocking.
Daniel hadn't shown it, but she'd thought it was possible he'd given up on Rin, whom he liked, and fallen for some random elf.
But he'd taken the fish from Ares's pond?
"That's impossible. I emphasized it so many times to Daniel! A man should look at and love only one woman!"
She remembered pointing at Ares, who always ran around in packs of girls in the village, and telling Daniel over and over not to become like that.
"I'm telling you it's not me! I don't know why he suddenly changed either!"
Ares had gotten beaten up quite a bit by Dyna McLane over the recent break under the pretext of training, so just the sight of the wooden sword made him tremble.
He didn't seem to be lying.
"Hmm."
Dyna turned and headed for her next target.
Dyna found Rin in a secluded clearing at Aeos Academy.
She seemed to have been working magic—dark energy was seeping up around her—but the moment Dyna approached, she erased the traces.
"What were you doing?"
Dyna frowned at the strange aura and asked. Rin answered with a small smile.
"I was gathering information, sort of."
"Hmm?"
She didn't understand what that meant, but it wasn't important, so Dyna was about to speak when she suddenly wondered if this was the right approach.
From Dyna's perspective, Daniel liked Rin and Rin liked Daniel.
Ares had gotten in the middle, but Dyna had thought the two would end up together, and Rin was more than good enough to be Daniel's wife. She'd been satisfied with that.
But from the moment Daniel started liking an elf, Rin's love could be considered a failure.
"Is something the matter?"
Since Dyna had come looking for her and then said nothing, Rin smiled gently and considerately prompted her.
Looking at that kind, considerate smile, Dyna thought what a waste of a good girl she was, even as she carefully spoke.
"Are you getting along well with Daniel, by any chance?"
She thought asking that much would be fine, but Rin's eyes sparkled and she launched into a rapid-fire monologue.
"Of course, we're getting along great. Lately Daniel's been like this......"
Blah blah blah blah.
She was pouring out such passionate interest in Daniel that Dyna wondered if she'd always been this talkative, but the more she did, the more Dyna's chest ached.
Daniel, you idiot.
There's a girl this wonderful right here and he lets her go, getting his head turned by some big-breasted elf.
"When we went to Yggdrasil he held me like this and said he'd protect me no matter what! Kyaa!"
Listening to her excited chatter, Dyna thought the girl just wanted someone to brag to, even as her eyebrows twitched.
"When you went to Yggdrasil? Weren't you going there to meet an elf?"
She'd heard Rin had gone along, but something about the story seemed to be flowing in a strange direction.
"Yes, that's right. I think Daniel likes Eris."
"......Am I not understanding something right now?"
Dyna couldn't follow the conversation, but Rin paid no mind and kept talking.
"Plus at the hotel in Betel, I said I was scared so he slept with me. Being in the same bed again after so long, it was just......"
"Wait, wait!"
Dyna's head felt like it was going to explode from the confusion.
If Rin and Ares were the friends Daniel had been close with since the village, then the best friends he'd made at the academy were supposedly Eve and Tana.
The two of them were easy to find at the café in front of the third-year dormitory.
When Dyna briefly introduced herself as Daniel's older sister, the two made a fuss, cleared a seat for her, and went to buy drinks with respectful attitudes.
Their first impressions weren't bad, so she got straight to the point.
"Lately weird rumors seem to be spreading about our Daniel, so I wanted to check on a few things."
At Dyna's words both of their expressions immediately hardened. Thinking they knew something, Dyna pressed persistently.
"Do you know anything? His relationships with girls seem pretty complicated."
"Ah, that."
"I thought this was about the recent incident."
"Recent incident?"
When Dyna looked at them with a strange expression, the girls shook their heads and answered while drinking, looking relieved.
"Daniel's relationships with girls are a little complicated, yeah."
"A little? Not just Rin, but Sen and Elise hanging all over him, and lately even you......"
"Huh?"
"Ahem, never mind."
When Eve gave her a look, Tana awkwardly put her mouth to the straw and slurped her drink.
This Eve girl looks fragile on the outside, but she's got more backbone than I expected.
The atmosphere was definitely different up close versus from a distance. She had a cute small-animal feel, but there was conviction underneath.
The phrase "iron fist in a velvet glove" fit her perfectly.
"But don't worry. Daniel is completely single-minded. It's a little annoying, but still."
"Right, single-min...... annoying?"
Eve slowly stirred the ice with her straw and smiled faintly.
"But if you think about it the other way, isn't that a good thing? It means once he settles on one person, he only looks at that person. So if you just become that one person......"
"What is this kid saying?"
When Dyna pointed at Eve with an incredulous look, Tana whispered with an awkward smile.
"She's been off the leash lately and is going wild. She's originally a good kid, so she'll go back to normal soon."
Hearing Tana's strained excuse, Dyna left her seat.
"Hmm? No cigarette smell."
In the past, coming up to the rooftop, the reek of cigarettes was so strong you'd wonder if this was really an academy. Now only a cool breeze brushed her nose.
A group of clearly delinquent-looking students clustered together chatting among themselves.
Third-years?
She'd heard that recently a kid had conquered all the delinquents across every year except the graduating fifth-years among the third-years.
She didn't know the name, though.
"Hey kids, do you know someone named Daniel?"
"Huh? Well, yeah, we know him."
Wearing a fifth-year uniform, the delinquents seemed a little cowed at first.
Of course, it didn't last long.
"Hey, why are you flinching."
"Right? This is hilarious."
"Yeah, we know him? Who are you, lady?"
One of the girls came over openly irritated. Kids who couldn't do anything alone always acted tough when they had someone next to them.
"I'm Dyna McLane. Daniel's older sister."
After introducing herself, she clenched her fist with a twisted smile, planning to give them a solid mental education like she had Ares.
"Eek!"
"M-McLane?"
"Daniel's sister? W-we're so sorry!"
The delinquents immediately bowed their heads and apologized.
The 180-degree change from their arrogant attitude a moment ago left Dyna more confused than anything.
"What the hell did my little brother do?"
Curious enough to ask by this point, the girl who'd been picking a fight just moments ago answered snappily.
"Nothing! Daniel helped us quit smoking, made us do campus volunteer work...... It's just that he's a little too close with our May, that's all."
"May?"
Like a detective snatching evidence from a conversation with a suspect, Dyna demanded more details.
That Daniel was close with May Flove, the queen of the back alleys who'd conquered Aeos Academy.
They started spilling every little detail about how May seemed to like Daniel.
"But lately a lot of girls have been clustering around Daniel, right?"
"Elise and Sen stick to him too, don't they? He's not even particularly handsome, so I'm so jealous."
"Weren't those two originally following Ares around?"
"Right, but Ares seems completely abandoned now. Looking at that, I almost feel a little sorry for him."
"Sorry for what? The fishing game just ended, that's all. Looking at that, those girls' asses are pretty light."
"Do country commoners have some mysterious charm?"
"Didn't May like Ares too?"
"Hey, May's different. May has a reason to fall for him."
Now they were talking about Daniel among themselves right in front of her. Dyna nodded.
"A reason to fall for him?"
The gang flinched at Dyna cutting in, hesitated, and were about to explain how May had fallen for Daniel when—
"Hmm? Didn't you say you were going into town today? What are you doing here?"
A reddish-brown short-haired girl with a candy in her mouth appeared.
May, who'd already seen Dyna once in Daniel's room, jumped in surprise, pulled out the candy, and bowed her head deeply.
"O-Unnie! You're here!"
"Yeah, I came."
What? Conquered the school with her fists?
Queen of the delinquents?
Empress of the back alleys?
You're out.
How dare a girl like that set her sights on our gentle Daniel.