The second day after Raiden’s return to the Academy.
Despite the short time, the news of his return had spread throughout the Academy.
-The delinquent young master has returned!
As a member of one of the three esteemed Duke families that the continent kept an eye on, and as Raiden who was always at the center of unsavory rumors, the news spread quickly.
Naturally, it wasn’t just the second years that Raiden belonged to but also the other years who were interested in the news.
Among them, the first years.
There was one person who looked dazed after hearing the news about Raiden.
“My brother… is back…?”
The girl’s name was Ariel Lishite.
The eldest daughter of the Lishite family, she was a first-year prodigy with a natural talent for ice magic.
At the same time, she was the younger sister of Raiden Lishite, the protagonist of the news that was currently causing a stir in the Academy.
After hearing the news from her friends, Ariel froze for a moment.
Then, she abruptly stood up.
“I have to see my brother…!”
With those words, Ariel rushed out of the classroom.
She could hear the confused voice of the professor and the commotion of her friends behind her, but she didn’t care.
Ariel only looked ahead and ran.
Her feet moved from Building 1, used by first years, towards Building 2, used by second years.
But she soon ran into a problem.
“Oh no…”
Reynolds Academy was as large as a small city, and even within the school, students had to travel by designated carriages.
The problem was that the carriages didn’t operate during class hours.
So Ariel had no choice but to run.
The distance would take 15 minutes by carriage, on foot.
“Swift.”
She cast a spell on her entire body and started running.
Afterimages of her red hair scattered behind her as the scenery quickly disappeared.
.
.
.
Raiden Lishite.
To Ariel, Raiden was a kind older brother.
During her curious childhood, whenever she didn’t understand something, her smart brother would patiently explain it to her.
Every time she pestered him to play, he never got annoyed and played with her.
When she was scolded by their parents and cried in her room, he would comfort her with kind words.
If he got snacks like cookies or chocolates, he would always split them in half and give the bigger portion to Ariel.
And when she finished eating hers, he would make excuses like having a stomachache or not feeling hungry and feed her his portion as well.
Ariel adored her kind brother.
Until he changed…
Around the time Ariel turned fifteen, her mother, Philippa Lishite, died.
She was killed while trying to protect her brother from intruders who broke into their mansion.
Ariel cried her heart out, calling for her mother who couldn’t even have a grave.
She spent the night in misery and despair, crying.
Unaware that her sorrow was tearing Raiden’s heart apart.
By the time she had somewhat calmed down
and recovered enough to look around,
it was already too late.
Raiden had already broken.
From that day forward, Ariel never saw Raiden’s smile again.
Two years passed.
A long time, yet also a short one.
Raiden’s misdeeds, which she had thought would soon subside, only worsened with each passing day.
Rumor had it that his wickedness extended to assault, blackmail, vandalism, and various other forms.
There was even a rumor that he had raped a commoner girl.
Amidst such whispers, Ariel gradually grew weary.
She could no longer recall Raiden’s smile.
In the past, whenever she thought of her brother, a smiling boy naturally came to mind.
Now, the only image that surfaced was of him drunk and causing a scene.
Even when Ariel tried to initiate a conversation, Raiden would unilaterally reject her.
She resented her brother.
She resented him for acting as if he didn’t care, despite her waiting for him like this.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand Raiden.
But.
But…
-…I miss Mom too.
She was also suffering from the same kind of pain as her brother.
Even so, Raiden’s behavior had crossed the line.
As if he was being chased by something,
he was running towards a cliff, fixated only on what lay ahead.
Ariel was also a human being with emotions.
She was hurt by Raiden’s harsh words.
She shed tears of deep sorrow when she thought of her deceased mother.
Exhaustion and resentment gradually accumulated, growing in size.
And those piled-up emotions eventually exploded.
In the worst possible way that Ariel had never wished for.
It was an ordinary day.
Ariel had recently entered the Academy and was diligently adjusting to her new life.
Then she heard the news.
Raiden had been flirting with first-year girls and ended up getting beaten up.
Ariel felt anger rising within her.
Three days ago.
It had only been three days since she asked him to behave.
She couldn’t bear it any longer.
She thought that if Raiden had even a shred of consideration, he wouldn’t have acted this way, especially today.
Because that day was Ariel’s seventeenth birthday.
-Raiden!!!
Overwhelmed by anger and disappointment, Ariel sought out her brother and confronted him.
Why was he acting like this?
She asked him to stop.
Was it so enjoyable to cause harm to others and act recklessly?
The girl expressed her anger, but her brother responded halfheartedly as usual, ignoring her.
Ariel felt a surge of resentment.
She was disappointed that he was behaving like this even on her birthday.
She hated him for shamelessly disregarding her words.
Perhaps that was why.
-I wish…
The suppressed, muddled emotions.
Disappointment, sadness, anger, resentment, hatred—all mixed together, transforming into vicious thorns.
Words she would never normally utter.
Words she would never even think of slipped out of her mouth.
-I wish… that day, you had died instead of Mom…
Even she thought it was a cruel thing to say.
If only she had stopped there.
Unfortunately, her mouth didn’t stop.
As if determined to pour out all the resentment and sorrow she had endured, she spat out disgusting words.
-You should have died!! Why did trash like you survive while Mom died… Just you! You should have just died!!!
With those words, the girl opened her eyes that she had tightly shut.
And she saw.
Raiden’s face, was drained of all color.
The moment Ariel met his gaze, she realized.
Ah.
She made a mistake.
Raiden froze for a moment before turning away and disappearing.
And from that day forward,
Raiden vanished.
.
.
.
“Huff… Huff…”
Ariel ran, gasping for breath.
She had arrived at Building 2 and was sprinting down the hallway.
Her neat uniform was disheveled, and her red hair, which she had been so proud of, inheriting it from her mother, was now messy with sweat.
Ariel forced back the tears welling up in her eyes.
The last image of Raiden she had seen.
His pale face.
His wildly trembling pupils kept flashing before her eyes.
-I wish… that day, you had died instead of Mom…
No.
-You should have died!! Why did trash like you survive while Mom died…
I didn’t mean it.
-Just you! You should have just died!!!
I never once thought that.
I didn’t want you to disappear.
I didn’t want you to be sad.
I’m sorry.
I was too young and foolish to say such horrible things.
It’s okay even if you’re not the kind brother you used to be.
It’s okay even if you’re called a delinquent.
So please.
Don’t just disappear like that.
“Gasp… Pant…”
The classroom door came into view.
Ariel charged towards it and kicked the closed door with all her might.
-BAM!!!
The door flew open with a loud bang.
Inside, the professor and students stared at her in surprise.
Ariel looked around, searching for Raiden.
And then, she heard a voice.
“Ariel…?”
Ah.
That voice.
The voice she had truly missed.
The voice she had been anxious about.
The voice she felt sorry for.
The voice she had been waiting for.
The voice she loved.
It was just a single word, but Ariel recognized it instantly.
It was undoubtedly her brother’s voice.
She turned her head and saw a boy with black hair.
He looked haggard, but it was definitely her brother.
As she met his black eyes, filled with bewilderment,
Ariel burst into tears and ran to him, embracing him tightly.
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Thanks for the chapter
ReplyDeleteJanitor's POV when?
ReplyDeleteJanitor lives matter too!
DeleteGo find that janitor isekai. It already occurred awhile ago.
DeleteAw, at least she's a good kid in the end. But that doesn't justified what she's done in the past.
ReplyDeleteYes, both of them lost her mother in the young age, but their situation is really different from each other. The brother only have his heart and kindness while she has the greatest talent. She can blame others while his brother can't help but blame himself.
Technically, she already killed her brother. Whatever she do from now on is just regrets.
Am I the only one that thinks short range tp to be absolutely busted in combat? If he had trained his mana reserves to be able to do it more often and perhaps extend the range and do it on the fly, that coupled with swordsmanship would have made him busted.
Deleteur right phantom step + kendo would be goated. beautiful, clean, spectral. no need to increase range
ReplyDeletethe hardest hitting thing is that she likely meant it, as she truly misses here mother. yet, saying she would also miss her brother isn't contradictory. that is the hard part of extremes cases like that. emotions becomes inconsistent and too heavy to carry, it is not a distinct fairy answer. the only clear thing is that she would rather have both like back then, instead of losing one and half [as her brother became a cask of his past self]. well, traumatic events are like that tho, once it happens, you don't only lose the one that died, every single person that goes through it loses a bit of themselves too. you can never go back, instead you can only get whatever piece of yourself that remains and move forward as much as you can, and sometimes you heal and grow into something more.
ReplyDelete"Words she would never even think of slipped out of her mouth."
ReplyDeleteFact is she did in fact think of it bottled up in her mind, and that's why it slipped out of her due to her frustration at that moment...
The ending did bring a tear to my eyes
Delete