Chapter 58 - What A Bad Time To Be Awake

"...Big...brother..."

It's already past midnight, and I woke up because Aoi has been shaking my arm for some time now.

"Aoi...haven't I told you already that I can't play with you in the middle of the night? You know I haven't got enough zees since lately, right..." I said to her, feeling extremely sleepy as I let out a huge yawn.

Especially this week, I struggled to get enough sleep as I'm trying to finish my community service as soon as possible. Even with my improved stamina, I still can't do many things all at once without having my body pay for it.

When I turned my back at her as I try to go back to sleep, it seems that she got mad that she continued shaking my arm vigorously.

"What is it?!"

'Ah--!'

Aoi got startled when I unconsciously leaked out a loud voice.

"S-Sorry Aoi, I didn't mean to shout at you," I apologized to her in panic. "I just want to know the reason why you're waking me up."

"...Uh? Umm..."

Aoi looked down as if mustering her courage to answer.

"...C-Can you...um..."

"Nn?"

...

"...Can you go with me to the toilet?"

I quickly raised my eyebrows. "Huh? T-Toilet?"

Aoi nodded.

"But the toilet isn't that far from here, you know? Surely you can go there alone, as you do always," I said.

A common design for places like Sandy Fish is that the toilet and bathrooms are centralized. That is, there is only one of each for every floor of the inn. Since Sandy Fish currently is more of a tavern restaurant than an actual inn no one had a problem with that layout but there would be if more people occupy the rooms here on the upper floor.

If Sandy Fish want to grow after a few years, I would suggest that they prioritize making one T&B per room first before improving the other facilities.

"...Ughhh..."

"Hm?"

"...Big brother, you idiot."

"Wha--an idiot?!"

My jaws almost fell off the ground when she said that to me.

"...Yes, big brother's an idiot."

"W-Why?! Is it because I told you to go to the toilet alone?"

"...That's it!" She immediately replied.

Ehhh...

"Why...do you want me to go with you so bad? It's not that someone like you is afraid of the dark, right?"

There must be another reason why she's acting like that. Either it is something that is hard for mere mortals like me to understand, or just one of her childish whims.

"...It's..." Aoi paused for a moment. "It's because of Saki."

Saki?

"...Last night, I saw her going to the toilet downstairs while her brother followed after her, carrying a lantern. From the look of her face it seems like she's afraid of the dark, that's why maybe she asked Saku to go with her."

'I thought, being scared of the dark is a normal thing among ordinary girls, that's why I wanted to try that too,' she explained further.

So that's why. I know how much she tells me that she loathed humans and wants to kill us all but at the same time, she's trying her best to act like one. I don't want to think that it's hypocritical of her to be like that, instead I'm thinking of it as Aoi's gradual change of heart into understanding us humans more.

"...Um, big brother...there's also one thing."

"Hm?"

Rubbing her thighs together frantically, she said, "...It's about to leak out."

"Ah, I will go with you now!"

'Geez!!!' I immediately jumped out of the bed, carried Aoi on my arms as we went out of the room and went straight towards the nearest toilet.

"...This isn't what I had in mind when I told you to go with me, big brother," Aoi sulked as soon as I let go of her.

"Sorry, but I can't let you wet yourself on the bed," I replied.

'The Leaking Goddess'--that would be her title if she did leak herself. It's my responsibility to not let that happen, so I did what I could to bring her here.

"...You want to go inside, big brother?" Aoi asked before she opened the door leading to the toilet.

"Nope, don't want to."

I'll just stand here outside and wait for you to finish whatever business you have to do there. Since you're not actually afraid of the dark, there's no need for me to go inside with you.

"...I see. I'll go in, then."

I sat just beside the door and waited. Normally it would take her about five minutes to do her business, so I used that time to close my eyes for a bit.

*rustle* *rustle*

"Hm?" Just moments after I closed my eyes, I heard rustling sounds from somewhere. I thought that it's just Aoi, so I decided to ignore it and closed my eyes again.

*rustle* *rustle*

"Aoi? You're done already?"

"...Ah! N-Not yet, big brother," Aoi replied.

"I-Is that so? I heard something right now, so I thought you're done there already."

"...P-Please don't listen, big brother..."

"Sorry! Take your time then!"

I took some distance from the door. I know she feels embarrassed deep inside knowing there's someone that could hear whatever sound she could make while doing her business there, so as her brother I have to respect her right to privacy.

"If this were to continue every night, my sleep schedule would be messed up...again," I sighed as I sat cross-legged at the middle of the corridor.

I'm not mad or anything because Aoi woke me up in the middle of the night. She's just a child after all, and it's normal for children to sometimes wake up at night either to grab something to eat or go to the toilet. I did it often too when I was younger, so I won't ever be mad if she continue to do this from now on.

Adjust, adjust...the 'older' one has to adjust according to the 'younger' ones' needs...

"Hm?"

While waiting, I felt a strange presence coming from somewhere. Is Aoi done already?

"Aoi?"

"...What is it, big brother?" She's still inside.

"How long would you stay there? Are you going to sleep there?"

"...I'm almost done, big brother! Just wait for a minute," she replied.

"Okay. Don't forget to wash your hands afterwards," I reminded her.

"...Okaaaaaayyy..."

I patted my cheeks a few times. It must be because of my disrupted sleep that I'm feeling strange today--

"...Ahhh...that is so refreshing...--huh? Big brother, are you alright?" Aoi asked as soon as she got out of the toilet.

I looked at her in shock and said, "Ah, Aoi! I didn't notice you're done already..."

"...Yes, but...is there something wrong, big brother?"

"N-Nothing, I just thought there's strange presences I sense somewhere. That's all."

"...Presences?" Aoi began looking around and after a few moments she said, "I can't sense anything suspicious, big brother."

"R-Really?"

Aoi nodded. "...If there's danger nearby I could immediately detect it. However, right now I can't feel any sign of danger or suspicious behavior within the vicinity of Sandy Fish."

Be it a burglar or any sort of criminal lurking in the dark, she said as long as she's around no one would dare try to do bad things here.

"...That's why, you should feel relieved and go back to...--ummh?"

"Shhh..." I quickly covered her mouth with my hand. "This time, I'm sensing their presences for real."

That's right, 'their'.

At first I only sensed the presence of one person but as soon as Aoi started speaking, their numbers drastically increased. About ten, I guess.

Myriel.

I suddenly remembered the name of that woman. We just met her this morning, and now she called her lackeys to surround us this time? What in the world is she planning?

I have to find out.

"Aoi, stay here. I have to go outside for a moment," I spoke to her softly.

"...Big brother, is there something wrong? If there is, I will go with you," she replied.

"It's alright. Just do as I told you and be quiet. You don't want Saku and Saki who are sleeping already to wake up because of our noises, right?"

Besides, there's a curfew ordinance in this town telling children not to go outdoors after ten. I don't want to risk getting in trouble again if you insist going outside with me, Aoi.

"This time for real, I won't take long outside."

When I turned away, Aoi--

"...I will go with you."

"You...I told you already that--"

"...Those presences...they're here because of me, right? If that's the case I don't want to just hide here and do nothing. I want to confront them, then kill them afterwards."

She grasped my hand tightly. Her hands are soft and cold, but also firm at the same time. As much as I want to do it alone for her sake, I can't just ignore her sentiments that easy.

"You don't care at all about that curfew ordinance, no?"

"...Human laws don't apply to me, big brother," she spoke proudly. "My existence is evil in itself, so I won't bother obeying any of them anytime soon."

"Yeah," I said as I patted her head. "What a bad girl, you are."

-----

As soon as we stepped out of the inn, I instantly felt that there's already a huge crowd of people watching at us.

"...You said that there's strange presences around us, but I still can't feel them," Aoi said as she looked around frantically.

"Maybe they did something to hide their presence from you while at the same time, making me the only one who could notice them."

It's as if that certain ability of hers is transferred to me all of a sudden. If these guys could do something like that, what more are the other tricks up in their sleeves?

"Hey, all of you--just come out already. We're here."

It feels like I'm inviting unnecessary aggression with those words. I shouldn't have said that, but it's too late. Walk the talk.

"I have said it before and I will say it again: I will never, ever, go to your side. I only wanted a peaceful life with my sister so please leave us alone or else..."

"Or else...what?"

"Huh?"

I heard a reply from somewhere. Not from a woman, but from a man.

"Pardon for this encounter in the middle of the night. We have come in peace, so if we show ourselves please don't look at us with those sharp gazes of yours."

At that moment, a large group of people wearing black robes appeared one by one, making a circle around with an opening in front of us. For some reason, they all wore pink-colored pig masks.

"...They all look so ugly, big brother..." Aoi commented.

"It is impolite to call others ugly, my dear goddess," the voice spoke.

From the dark, a man appeared and stood at the gap of the encirclement of masked people. He himself also wore a mask, but instead of a pig he wore a brown mask of a boar.

"Those who judge others by the masks other people are wearing must be wearing an even more vile-looking mask themselves. I hope you remember that," he spoke in a deep voice.

"Are you the ones Myriel sent for us this time?" I asked him.

"Myriel? You mean the Rewriter? No, we're not working for her. You could tell from the masks we're wearing, right?"

He's right. Myriel's subordinates wore a plain, white masks. I don't think she's a type of goddess who would allow her men to look like beasts just like these people.

"We're not working for any god--we are working for the world," he declared solemnly.

He said, the organization he's in right now existed the same time the gods waged war with each other. With humanity almost becoming extinct as a result of seemingly endless battles, his organization became responsible for the restoration of this world when peace returned, and protected it until the present time. If not for them, he claimed, the world wouldn't be able to enjoy the things it has right now.

"I see. We should be thankful then."

"We're not doing it just because we want to receive something from the people. We're doing this as it is our calling to protect the world's interests."

"Based from your story I could say that your organization is really amazing..." I said as I cleared my throat. "Okay, let's get straight to the point. What does your organization want from us, then?"

"You, Ren Mortel. We want you."

When he said that, Aoi quickly stood in front of me and spread her arms wide.

"...I won't let you have my big brother!"

"Easy, easy, my dear Death Goddess," the boar-masked man laughed at her. "Actually the main reason we're here is because of you. However, I can't turn a blind eye to your brother which, unexpectedly, has more potential than you--the original target."

Times have changed, he said. The once fearsome and evil goddess who almost brought the world to ruin, is now a lesser sibling to a mere human, nonetheless. Going by that sudden turn of events, which one is more dangerous than the other?

"Your brother has a potential to compromise the peace the organization has maintained for thousands of years but alas, my colleagues is still stuck on that same old mentality! The Death Goddess is just a child, and the real threat is the one who released you from the seal!"

All of them--pointed their fingers at me.

"We came here in peace and we'll go in peace, as long as you come with us unconditionally. Even though you're a threat to our organization, as long as you're not the Death Goddess you'll still be safe in our hands."

"Those words are more or less just the same as what Myriel told me," I commented.

He snorted, "I don't know what the Rewriter has told you, but I'm sure our offer is better than hers."

Just like Myriel, these guys openly declared their intentions to get me. While I'm a bit happy that other people could see some value in me, I'm more worried that the value they saw in me will be used for their personal gain.

"No," I replied. "It's much, much worse."

'Seizure--!' As I was about to use [Sacred Curses] to incapacitate them, the whole place became covered in smoke all of a sudden. Covering my nose and mouth with my shirt, I looked for Aoi.

"...A-Ah, big brother?!" I heard a short yelp after I used my hands to sense my surroundings.

"Aoi? Is this Aoi?"

"...Y-Yes!"

"Thank goodness," I pulled her towards me and tightly embraced her. "I thought they took you away from me..."

"...Me too. If big brother suddenly went missing, I..."

After a few seconds, the smoke finally disappeared.

"Aoi, what's with that yelp just now? Did you got hurt or something?"

"...Ehh...about that, big brother...please don't mind it at all," she said while her cheeks blushed.

Huh?

"Anyway, look--they're all gone."

"...You scared them away, big brother."

"No. I only reacted accordingly."

While the boar guy was speaking, I saw from the corner of my vision one of his men stealthily taking out a dart from his robe. Whether that dart is for me or for Aoi, what they said about coming here in peace is in fact, pure bull.

"...My detection ability only returned just now. Sorry for not being of much help, big brother."

"It's okay. You did your best to protect me, after all."

"...Yes!"

Aoi then let out a cute yawn unexpectedly.

"Let's go back to bed, shall we?"

"...Ah, okay!"

We tiptoed our way back to our room. Saku and Saki worked hard today so they're sleeping like logs right now but still, who knows if they saw what happened outside.

"...Um, big brother?"

"What is it?"

"...What would you do from now on, now that the ones who want to get hold of you has increased? Should we fight, or should we hide away?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes with her hands.

Hmmm...how would I answer her question...

"Maybe...do our best?"

"...Eh?!"

Yeah. I can't think of a definite answer right now but whatever decision I'll make from now on, I have to stick into it with my all.

Whatever happens to me, my priority would still be Aoi.

"...I see. Let's do our best, big brother!" She said happily.

Yeah. Let's do our best...

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Would that be enough?