“Doben!”
“There you are, Ed.”
The ice between us was broken the day we beat each other up. So, the day after tomorrow, I arrived at the meeting point where Doben was waiting for me.The reason for this was to introduce me to Doben’s family, who came here to support him, … who were going to be used as hostages to threaten Doben.
“Sorry, did I keep you waiting?”
“No, I just got here myself. And you are …”
“I have seen you, but I never talked to you before. Is it fine with you? I’m Tia. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I see. I’m Doben.”
Doben greeted Tia next to me in a somewhat appropriate manner. To Doben, who had no idea that Tia was a master of spirit magic and who had lived more than 100 years, she looked like a helpless girl younger than me, so it was no wonder she was treated that way. …
“Mou~! Again, Onii-chan greeted someone like that!”
From behind Doben, a pure white cat-like girl who looked nothing like him shouted. Doben’s face frowned after seeing and recognizing the owner of the strong-willed face and voice.
“What is it, Mimir? What’s wrong with me?”
“Everything! That’s why Onii-chan has no friends and no girlfriend!”
“Ugh! T-That’s not true! I just don’t want to hang out with weak people――”
“Yes, yes. No excuses. Really… I feel sorry for you, Onii-chan. I am the sister of this rowdy brother of mine, Mimir. Please take care of me.”
The girl named Mirmir cut off and ignored Doben, who was stammering and picked up the hem of her skirt and bowed. It was not a nobleman’s bow, but it was quite a dignified gesture.
“This is extremely polite. I’m a friend of Doben’s, Ed, and this is Tia.”
“I am Lunaritia. You can call me Tia. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, Ed-san and Tia-chan.”
“… Wait. Why is Ed ‘san’ and I’m ‘chan’?”
“What? Because Ed-san is older than you, right? Or rather, isn’t Ed-san your brother and you’re his sister?”
“No! I’m Ed’s Onee-san! In the end, I am a hundred …… Mmmphffff!!!?”
“Hahahaha! That’s right. I’m 20 and Tia is 21, so Tia is older than me, if only slightly. Right, Tia?”
After quickly covering Tia’s mouth, I looked into Tia’s face at an angle that Mimir and the others couldn’t see and said, “You know what I mean, right?” and appealed to her. Then, Tia gave a small nod while pouting her lips in obvious dissatisfaction, and I slowly removed my hand.
“… That’s right. I’m the Onee-san anyway!”
“Is that so? Sorry, I’m not a hairless …… the age of human beings is difficult to understand. I can tell when they’re a little more wrinkled though,” Mimir said.
“It can’t be helped. It’s hard for us too to tell how old the Chemonians are either,” I replied.
“By the way, how old are you, Mimir-chan?” Tia asked
“Me? I am 14 years old. By the way, My Onii-chan is 21.”
“Really?! You are not even an adult and yet you are so clever,” Tia replied.
“That’s because, well, my Onii-chan is like this.”
Mimir replied with a wry smile to Tia who was impressed with Mimir. Doben, beside her, said, “Who is this!!” protested, but no one heard him complain.
Yes, yes. I know what you mean, Doben. In times like this, we don’t have a say. It was wise to just shut up and let it slide, okay?
“Is Mimir-chan the only one with you? Did you face any danger along the way?”
“I’m fine. My father and mother couldn’t come because they had to work, but my Onii-chan came to the village to pick me up.”
“Oh, I see. What? He is a good Onii-san,” Tia said.
“Yes! He is blunt and easily misunderstood, but he is really very kind!”
“Fufufu, I see.”
“Hehehe, how’s it going? Kind Onii-chan?” I asked him.
“Tsk! Shut up.”
As Tia and Mimir happily chat with each other, I poked him with my elbow, and Doben turned his face away. At first glance, he looked grim, but my keen eye didn’t miss the loosening of his lips.
“Don’t be so shy. Family is a good thing. … take good care of it.”
“I’ll tell you. As long as I live, Demon Lord or not, I won’t let anyone touch my sister.”
Doben’s casual but determined words seeped into my heart. Ah, I was certainly sure of it. That was why you protected your sister and fought to the death even if you had to throw away your title as a hero, which you had longed for so much. … I would never forget that determination.
Then, we parted after we finished our meal together. After seeing off Mimir, who smiled and waved, and Doven, who still looked grumpy… but actually seemed to be enjoying himself. Tia and I returned to the inn together and sat facing each other in my room.
“Are you sure this was a good idea?”
“Ah. I’ve seen what I need to protect, so as long as I’m in this town, I won’t lose track of Mimir. Also, since I have you, I should be able to protect her even if I have to be a little forceful when the time comes. However, once the selection process starts, it is basically forbidden to contact Mimir.”
“If I’m with you, the enemy might change his plans and move differently … right?’
I nodded deeply to Tia, who said with an impatient look on her face. If Tia was with me, I would not know if Mimir would be kidnapped or not. If the ringleader decided it would be too difficult, it would take a sudden turn of targets which would become more difficult to handle.
“I don’t want to scare them off if I can help it. However …”
“Well, that depends on when I can get on the mastermind’s tail. If I find out early enough, I can deal with them before they do anything, but then I would be left wondering how I can admonish someone who hasn’t done anything.”
“Ugh … Some words of Gonzo are flowing through me now…”
“No, Tia. That temptation is one you should absolutely never give in to.”
In my brain, too, old man Gonzo was striking a muscular pose and saying, “Gahahahah! Why don’t you just think about it after you beat up the suspicious ones!” He insisted, but I couldn’t do that. In that world, there was a good chance the privilege of Alexis might help us out, but if I did the same thing in this world where I had no connections, it would basically be an invitation to the prison.
“We know there’s going to be an incident, but we can’t do anything about it until it actually happens. …”
“It can’t be helped. We know what’s going to happen, but we’re not gods or anything. We’ll do the best we can. That’s all we can do.”
We know what would happen, but we’re not God or anything. We would do the best we can do. That was all we could do.
“I know! I understand, but … I can’t think of a solution for it to that extent yet.”
I gently stroked Tia’s head as her ears drooped in frustration.
“That’s all right. You are fine the way you are, Tia. Even I ask myself, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ If you just tell me how you feel, I can keep on checking on you. Me and Tia are different. We are together because we are different. Let’s work hard together and make a future where Waffer, Doben, and even Mimir can smile.”
“Ed … Yeah, I agree. Let’s go for it!”
I patted Tia on the head as she regained her energy, and looked out the window of my room.
Now, from here, it was a race against time. The time for the hunter, who waits and waits without being noticed, so as not to miss the decisive moment. I didn’t know who or what was making us go through all this trouble, but …don’t think you could get away with it, okay?