At Last, We Meet
Finally, we meet.
……For a moment, without lying, Charlotte shone with light.
Even though I had never once experienced the existence of a ‘noona’ in my life, it felt as if I was conversing with the neighborhood noona I had known for many long years.
It wasn’t unpleasant.
“……Since Noona Charlotte has said so, there’s no need to hesitate.”
“Yes. Whether your body is a monster, a human, or a demon, the important thing is the core. As long as you remain yourself, I don’t care what you are. So, don’t worry about unnecessary things.”
Charlotte’s hand, which had been stroking my head, slid down and lightly pinched my cheek.
If it were the usual her, she would have playfully scolded me to stop. But right now, I wanted her to leave her hand there.
“Where should I explain from…… Ah, it’s about the time I unexpectedly ran into my dear sister.”
“Wait a moment. Dear sister? What does that mean?”
The pinch on my cheek suddenly made Charlotte’s voice louder and her grip stronger.
“Ouch, Noona. If you keep that up, my face will turn into rice cake.”
“Ah, sorry. I got too surprised and stopped. Well, of course it’s shocking to hear that I have a dear sister. The children of the Frelia family are Pascal, you, and Chloe, right?”
“Haha, I don’t know how to explain it. First, she’s not from the Frelia family.”
“Not Frelia but calling you dear brother?”
Charlotte furrowed her brows in clear confusion and tilted her head.
“Her name is Eve Cardena. I was startled when she suddenly started calling me ‘oppa’.”
“Wait, Cardena? It sounds like a name I’ve heard somewhere……”
Charlotte closed her eyes for a moment, fell silent, then suddenly opened them wide as if remembering something.
“……S-class dark mage Eva Cardena. The names are exactly the same. I heard she’s a mad magician who massacres people to create her own lifeforms just for herself……”
“As expected, Noona Charlotte knows a lot.”
“……Don’t tell me, that Eve Cardena is the one who made a chimera?”
“Correct.”
“And this Eve calls you ‘oppa’……”
“……Correct. I probably am that kind of existence as well.”
As always, Charlotte finished my sentence without me saying it.
Would she feel revulsion at the fact that I was an artificial lifeform and immediately throw me out like garbage?
“……So you were making that hard expression because you thought I’d hate you if I knew you were a chimera?”
Charlotte’s brows furrowed and she let out a deep sigh.
“Do you think I’d throw you away over that?”
“Throw away? That’s not a trivial matter. Since I was artificially created by someone, there’s a possibility I might suddenly lose control over myself. I…… might hurt Noona Charlotte.”
“Then I’ll beat you up thoroughly so you never do that again.”
Charlotte offered a rather crude solution of simply beating me up if I went out of control.
……But somehow, I found that comforting.
The will not to abandon me under any circumstances was transmitted through that one clear answer.
“Haha, I don’t want Noona Charlotte to hit me again. I’ll try to stay myself.”
“Yes. If you don’t want to be hit, then do that. Now keep talking.”
“Understood. Fortunately, Eve has not expressed hostility toward me. However, her and her mother’s goal simply cannot coexist with me.”
“What is their goal?”
“They desperately want the destruction of Megan Astorius more than anyone. And they are actually preparing a plan to kill him.”
“……Do you know what that plan is?”
“No. But I got the chance yesterday.”
I took a deep breath and continued.
“Mother, that is, Eva Cardena, is calling me. Tomorrow evening, she said to come to Luin Academy for a bit and show my face.”
“Luin Academy…… Well, that doesn’t seem strange. Eva Cardena has countless ways to infiltrate the academy’s security. So you’re going to meet her? It’ll be dangerous.”
“Correct. But a lot of information can be obtained as well. That’s why I came to see Noona Charlotte today.”
I looked into Charlotte’s eyes.
“Please help me.”
Charlotte let out a small laugh and answered with a smile.
“Oh, when haven’t I helped you? Tell me what you need to do.”
“……Aren’t you too readily agreeing? By helping me, Noona Charlotte might end up clashing with Eva Cardena. Noona Charlotte could get in danger too.”
“Of course I know that. But listen.”
She smiled faintly and propped her chin on her hand.
“If I get a little hurt while I save you, is that really such a bad deal? I don’t particularly like taking risks, but for you, I could do it over and over again.”
……Damn. My eyes were getting teary.
“……Noona Charlotte, are you doing this on purpose?”
“Hmm? I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you embarrassed?”
“Haha, embarrassed? No, I’m just happy.”
Thankful.
Grateful that someone is willing to take a risk for me.
“Noona Charlotte doesn’t have to do anything big.”
I raised my index finger and continued.
“Just when I’m in danger, throw me a lifeline.”
***
A day had passed since I met Charlotte.
And now the time was 9 PM.
The time had come.
“Oh, Oppa. You’ve been waiting a long time?”
Eve Cardena greeted me politely where she had been waiting in the alley.
“No. I just arrived myself.”
“Then it’s a relief. Come this way. Mother is waiting for you.”
I nodded at Eve’s words and followed her.
Naturally, I had activated Nature Realm. Meeting an S-class dark mage meant turning it off would be like begging to die.
So Eve and I kept walking. Although Eve chattered away at me, I was in extreme tension right now, so I couldn’t hear her voice clearly even if I wanted to.
“……Oppa, are you listening?”
Eve narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
“Ahaha, of course.”
“Then you know what I was talking about earlier too.”
“Of course. We were talking about your future career goals.”
“I don’t recall mentioning career goals at all……”
“C, c-hmm. Is that so?”
I smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of my head.
“……Oppa. Were you tense?”
“Haha, I guess so. After all, it’s our first meeting with Mother, so it would be strange not to be nervous.”
“Um…… Is that right? Eve was with Mother since birth, so I don’t know.”
“Sometimes not knowing is medicine.”
I gently stroked Eve’s head and we walked side by side.
After walking like that for about twenty minutes, the outer area appeared and the presence of people gradually faded.
And something was felt through Nature Realm.
Like a massive web stretched across the empty sky, an invisible power barrier enclosed a space.
I didn’t know exactly what it was, but my instinct told me that Eva Cardena was inside it.
“Hoo……”
I took a small breath, wrapped my body in Tao Power, and cautiously passed through the power barrier.
Luckily, I didn’t get hurt. It seemed the barrier was not built to harm me directly.
And after walking a bit more, information about a person flowed through Nature Realm from inside a relatively shabby building.
Just looking, it was an existence stronger than Eve.
Eva Cardena.
“……Eve. Before I meet Mother, I have one thing to ask.”
When we were about to meet Eva Cardena, I stopped and asked Eve her final question.
“What is it, Oppa?”
“If Mother orders you to attack me, what will you do?”
Without a flicker of hesitation, Eve answered.
“Kill you.”
“I see.”
“I really like you, Oppa, but the moment I see Mother’s eyes, I feel like I have to do things I don’t want to, as if…… I’ve been cursed.”
“Cursed……”
“I understand. Then let’s go meet Mother.”
I nodded and took a deep breath, stepping toward the place where Eva Cardena was waiting.
A shabby old house that looked like it hadn’t been cared for by humans for a long time.
I stepped inside and finally met her.
“Hello? My cute son.”
Mother.