The Protagonist's Sister Can't Do That!
“The protagonist’s sister… can’t do something like that!!!”
“I-I… I can still do this….”
“Just rest. I’ll give you a personal tour later.”
“But I—!”
“Rest, Tarle.”
“……Ugh.”
The result of Tarle’s medical examination was a mild fever. I considered escorting him all the way to the dormitory, but even a scoundrel noble like me had one last shred of pride left. Being dragged to the men’s dormitory by girls was simply unacceptable.
After Tarle remained in the infirmary, Gabea finally voiced the question she hadn’t dared ask in front of the two of them.
“You two seem pretty close. Did you already know each other?”
The information she had gathered on Tarle labeled him as one of this year’s persons of interest. He was the representative of the worst troublemaking group among the freshmen. He had been humiliated by Luke Colwen, but that was only because his opponent had been terrible.
“No. Today was the first time I met him.”
“First time meeting him, and he listens to you that well?”
Honestly, this senior had only one true intention behind her words.
‘Are they dating? It looks like Tarle has feelings for her.’
From the outside, and judging by his reputation, she felt it was a waste for Eres. Still, Tarle came from a prestigious family. The story of a delinquent reforming for love was always prime fuel for gossip.
“I don’t think he’s following me. He’s just not opposing me.”
“Even that is amazing! We’re talking about that Tarle Maerland!”
“Who is ‘that Tarle Maerland’?”
“Uh… huh?”
Oh no. This was a big problem. She really knew nothing at all! At this rate, it would just be straight-up badmouthing him….
‘Sorry, Tarle! But this is just how you usually act…’
“If it’s hard to explain, you don’t have to. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“…Huh? It doesn’t matter?”
“Yeah.”
If she heard a story like this, the normal reaction would be to assume Eres must have feelings for Tarle too. But standing right beside Eres, Gabea simply couldn’t make her thoughts connect in that way.
“I will judge what kind of person someone is for myself.”
The way Eres spoke those words—gentle yet indifferent—sounded less like “it doesn’t matter” and more like “it’s pointless.”
‘Maybe this kid isn’t so easy either…’
It was true that nobles who entered the academy at the proper age were often more talented than commoners who had fought desperately to get in. But it was also true that the peak of bizarre accidents tended to come from commoners.
‘I should watch you too and make my own judgment. About what kind of person you are.’
Of course, even if we were talking about the peak of accidents, this year’s freshmen had Luke Colwen as an insurmountable wall. As long as she didn’t get involved with him, there probably wouldn’t be any major incidents.
“Since it’s just the two of us now, shall we talk about ourselves? What did you come to the academy hoping for?”
“There’s someone I want to meet.”
“Huh? Is it a guy or a girl?”
“A man.”
Sorry, Tarle. Looks like you’re out of luck.
Gabea expressed genuine regret that a young man’s romance had ended before it could even begin. But since things had turned out this way, she wanted to hear about that romance!
“Is that man a current student? A freshman? Or staff? Tell me. I can help you!”
“Hmm… then it would be better to go look for him first. But will that be okay?”
“Don’t worry. I have a really wide network! That’s why even though it’s my day off, I got dragged into freshman orientation duty.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
At the sudden polite bow, Gabea felt relieved. There was something a little off about her, but she seemed like a polite, gentle, kind-hearted good kid.
That first impression, which had been building up so nicely—
“…….”
—shattered the moment Eres lifted her head again.
“What’s wrong? Is there something behind me…?”
It wasn’t Gabea. Eres, who was looking even further back, could not be described as gentle even as a white lie. When Gabea mustered the courage to turn around, she saw—
“Luke Colwen? And….”
A short distance away from them, this year’s number one person of interest, Luke Colwen, had cornered a woman who appeared to be his maid against the wall.
Clock Up Burst
“Tarle’s gone too, so let’s head back!”
“After seeing Eres show consideration for that scumbag and bring him to the infirmary, you don’t feel anything at all?!”
“My pitiful fate of having to sleep in a room full of flying dust! The more time I waste, the less time I have to clean, you know?”
“You have time to clean one room! It’s not even evening yet!”
“Exactly! If I clean your room, I’d have to leave mine alone!”
What? Was Melina seriously worrying about something as trivial as this the whole time? If she had just said it honestly, the problem would have been solved immediately.
“Where’s your room? We’re going to share one.”
“Eh.”
Of course, the dormitories were single rooms per person. That rule applied even to remote dorms that had been abandoned and had rooms to spare. Nothing else could enter our room—electricity, gas, that sort of thing.
“Sleeping in the same room as Master… Please don’t make such terrifying jokes….”
“What’s the problem? I used to hold your hand while you slept so you couldn’t run away anyway.”
Even if a hundred bugs appeared in the room, she probably wouldn’t look this disgusted. In fact, Melina wasn’t afraid of bugs. It seemed that expression was reserved exclusively for me.
“That was three years ago… After returning to Colwen, we had separate rooms….”
“That’s because it was easier to control you there.”
It wasn’t just that I was too busy to take her with me. In Colwen, where many eyes were watching, Melina’s sudden actions would have been caught quickly. On the other hand, if I took her around too much, people would complain.
“Sharing a room with a maid… Don’t you have any sense of social norms—”
“What have you been saying this whole time? You’re not actually a maid. You’re a hostage. I can’t let you rest, so I’m making you work as a maid.”
“That’s—”
Melina’s true nature was, after all, that of a hostage. Naturally, it was correct to keep her in a visible place and monitor her every move. Melina seemed to remember that fact as her composure returned… Wait, what the hell is this woman doing right now?!
“Mel! Trying to bite your own tongue? If you do that, you’ll suffer from a pierced tongue for the rest of your life!”
“Ugh, blegh!”
“Don’t say stupid things! People don’t die from biting their tongue a little!”
“Uuuu! Uuu!”
Dangerous! Her jaw strength was so weak that if I applied just a bit more force, it felt like I could rip it off! I needed precise control. Not a single tooth could be damaged—
“What are you two doing?”
‘Ah.’
‘Ah.’
There was no way I wouldn’t recognize the voice coming from behind us. It was a voice I had heard six years ago, before she had matured, and one I had confirmed again today while watching her. The most important person in this world.
“Melina… right?”
The protagonist of Endless Fantasia. I hadn’t planned to meet her today, but now that we were face to face, an electric current seemed to spark through my brain.
“It has truly been a long time. You must have become a powerhouse capable of satisfying me by now, yes?”
It felt like my circuits had shorted and broken down.
“Lord Luke…?”
“Do not interfere, Melina.”
Even if every future development I knew was about to be completely derailed from this point onward.
I was going crazy with the desire to test this protagonist right now.
“I want to talk with Melina. Will you step aside?”
“If that’s what you wanted, I would have told you how to do it.”
“…….”
I pulled Melina into my arms in an ostentatious display and stroked her chin. Eres’s eyes grew fierce.
“M-Master… Kyaa!”
And when Eres reached for her sword, the interfering Melina was thrown backward. My head was filled to the brim with excitement.
Right now, I was probably making an even stupider face than the one Melina had mentioned. But who cared about that?
“Come. Try cutting me with that sword of yours!”
For the first time in a while, at full power.
Steel? I raised the durability of my body to 100%, reaching an optimal combat state so hard it couldn’t even be compared to something like that.
I wouldn’t normally go this far, but the opponent was Eres. She was an enemy who had undergone the same training method I taught her, possessing monstrous stats and swordsmanship!
“My blood is boiling…!”
My brain must have been overclocked from the excitement; my accelerated thinking was at an all-time high. Too slow! She looked far too slow!
You idiot, I’m supposed to be testing Eres. What are you doing getting stronger yourself?!
Fine, good. Let’s do this. Prove your strength against me at my absolute peak!
.
.
.
…She’s… really slow.
Thought acceleration. Had the multiplier gotten too high? She still hadn’t even closed half the initial distance. At this rate, all this boiling excitement was going to cool off.
Should I slow it down a bit?
“Eres! You can’t fight that person!”
Senior Gabea tried to stop Eres, but it was already too late. Eres’s sharp sword flew toward my arm. I matched it by bringing up my fist to block—
Clang!
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
It flew away. Eres’s sword.
“Uwaah?”
D-Did I hit it too hard…? S-She shouldn’t be dropping her sword this easily…?
“Hah, hahaha. You’ve grown quite a bit. To hold back your strength against me.”
“…….”
“If I hadn’t wanted to see your skill, you would already be dead.”
“Um… Master?”
“I’ll give you another chance. Stop fiddling with your wrist and bring your sword.”
It must have been a momentary lapse in concentration. It was rare for me to use my full power, after all. Yes, she must have held back on the first strike to gauge her opponent’s ability. So hurry up and attack me with everything you have—
“……It broke.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Your sword is lying there completely intact.”
“My hand.”
“…….”
“…….”
“……Sigh….”
M-My hand broke…? From just a light probing strike…? A-And it wasn’t even a direct hit; it was the sword that got hit….
“Th-That can’t be…?”
“Here. It’s dangling.”
“H-Hiiiiik! A hand isn’t supposed to break that easily!!! A human body must be trained by heating it with fire and hammering it so that its shape never changes!!!”
“That’s already not a human body anymore, is it?”
“Then it really is harder than steel….”
If she had followed my training method, she should be harder than a tank by now. This can’t be happening…!
“My….”
“My?”
“Take my attack.”
It might be a bit dangerous, but the most basic part—the torso—should be solid, right? For the first hit, I should go easy, yeah?
Bam!
“Cough…!”
“Eres!!”
Wh-What?! B-Blood…?! I only used less than ten percent of my power…?
“You… Did you actually train according to the notebook I gave you?”
I was certain Cardo said she was training well…?
“How the hell… is a person supposed to do something like that….”
Cardo, you… You have a reservation for a male hormone reduction procedure. It’s useless anyway.
B-But more importantly, what do I do now? If this is all the stronger Eres has gotten, we’re screwed?
“I want to ask you the same thing. Why did you give me something like that? What do you want?”
Th-That’s….
“Because I believed you could become stronger than me.”
I had to prevent the bad ending!!! This is no different from the original story!!
“I’m disappointed. With your little sister’s safety on the line, is that all you can do? You can’t do it? Were you only capable of this much?”
“You speak as if you know me well….”
“I did know you well. I just didn’t know you would be this weak.”
No. It’s not over yet. It’s later than I expected, but still! If I make her grow stronger from now on, it’ll be fine!
“You’re pathetically weak. At this rate, how will you ever save your sister?”
“You…!”
“How disappointing, Eres. I gave you the answer sheet that would let you become stronger than anyone, yet you didn’t even look at it.”
I have Melina. And this is the academy. A place overflowing with means to grow stronger in earnest.
“Become stronger and try again. If you don’t, your sister will never escape from my grasp.”
“Wait! I—!”
“I have no use for words from the weak.”
Even though I said that, I supposed I should at least give her one carrot.
“Melina. I’ll give you the chance to leave one message for your sister.”
“……To me?”
If she completely broke down, she might reach for the magic sword. I had to prevent that. If Melina poured out all the emotions she had suppressed until now, it would serve as motivation—
“Sister. You really are weak, aren’t you?”
Huh?
“Mel…ina…?”
“At this rate, it’ll be impossible for you to save me.”
I could see Eres’s composure shattering at the highest level ever recorded. At the same time, I too—
This was similar to how I had broken down in the original story after Melina’s death.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to save me.”
Melina walked over to me and clung to my arm. Excuse me, Miss Melina? Why are you making this kind of gesture right now—
“This Master suits my tastes, it seems.”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
As we walked away, from behind us came Eres’s horrifying scream.
‘Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!’
And inside my heart, I was screaming even louder.