CH 37

Chapter 37 The Younger Brother Lost Something in Exchange for Peace of Mind

「Nice to meet you, Karen-sama. My name is Esther Nonland.」

A beautiful elf woman who claims to be an S rank adventurer was smiling in the middle of the group of adventurers.

This goddess-like person must be Karen-sama.

The beauty and the presence of a strong person… she’s not S rank for nothing.

「Esther-kun, nice to meet you. We are an A rank party, the <Sacred Flame>. I’m partying with these two on my both sides. I’m an S rank adventurer and these two… Bogard and Will are A rank.」

Standing next to Karen-sama is a strong-looking warrior and magician.

Perhaps, these two are on par with my father….

Actually, Karen-sama doesn’t look as strong as the other two, but… she’s an elf, so she’s probably an expert in magic and archery.

「Nice to meet you, Bogard-dono, Will-dono. By the way, who are the people behind you…?」

Unlike the three of them, except for one, the people behind them don’t look strong.

「Karen is not good at talking, so I will explain. The people behind us are the C rank party, the <Dragon’s Tears>. They are indebted to your older brother, Jink-sama, and to pay him back, they brought you a gift from Jink-sama.」

From my older brother!?

「We are messengers from King Quall to King Rosalta, but on the way, we met with Jink-sama and them. After we got to know each other, we decided to escort them here.」

「When did that happen!? Is my brother safe!?」

If the <Sacred Flame> is a messenger from the Kingdom of Quall, then… my brother’s escape route would be the route to Qualta via the danger zone, the <Ogre Forest>.

It’s one of the most dangerous routes from the royal capital.

That’s reckless no matter how you see it…

「It seems that Esther-sama doesn’t know about it yet. The rumors have already spread quite a bit, though….」

Will-dono is hesitating to say something….

If my brother had died like other people who were exiled, it wouldn’t become a big rumor…. What happened to him?

「Right now, I’m under house arrest by my father for a little misbehavior. So, I haven’t received any information from the outside. Well, I thought it was noisier than usual…. So, is my brother okay?」

I can feel my lips trembling with anxiety.

I want to hear the answer right now, but I’m afraid of being told bad news….

「Jink-sama has safely escaped to the Quall Kingdom. His skills were extremely useful, so we, the 『Sacred Flame』, cooperated to get him through Qualta’s checkpoint. …… (He’s so happy that he cries so much, huh? Jink-kun trusted him a lot, but… he sure is a kind child. I guess it’s okay to trust him.)

I can’t see well because my tears are overflowing.

When I was relieved, it seems that my knees gave in.

What am I doing in front of Karen-sama and other adults….

「… I am… *sobs*… sorry… *sobs*….」

「Ahaha, it’s okay~. No wonder Jink-kun takes good care of you, you’re ridiculously cute~」

It’s too embarrassing….

But I can’t stop crying, and I can’t put strength into my body.

Stop, don’t look at me….

「I’m glad my brother survived, but… I feel like I lost something important as a person…. I can’t marry anymore….」

In the end, Karen-san and the others saw my embarrassing figure for several minutes, and they are looking at me with warm gazes.

Probably because they treated me like a child, I was told that I didn’t need to use honorifics (I asked them to stop using honorifics as well), and at the end, they even patted me on the head.

""

I want to die….

「You lose if you mind about it, Esther-sama. You still have it better since you’re a child, but I’m already past my prime….」

I called Elsa since I wanted to tell her that my brother was alive, but then she ended up in a situation similar to mine, and we both ended up in a state of self-loathing.

Well, the atmosphere of the place itself is bright because we found out that my brother is alive.

「Elsa-san is a woman, so I think it’s fine~. Also, Esther-kun is cute, so if no one is going to take you as a husband, I’ll take you as one!」

「No, Karen, I really feel sorry for Esther-kun. The age difference is almost 20 times――GUOOHH!」

Amazing!

Karen-san’s punch was so powerful that it’s hard to believe that it came from her slender body… and even though it was a surprise attack, Will-san took a defensive posture just before hitting the wall….

These are high-ranking adventurers, huh….

「Ouch…. Good grief… it’s a waste of potion, so please don’t hit me just because of a joke of this degree.」

「You shouldn’t talk about a woman’s age! Also, I’m still young among the elves!」

「… Let’s stop paying around here and start sharing some information. Let me start by explaining our side of the story.」

According to Will-san’s explanation, my brother seems to be a user of enchantment, a very rare magic in the world.

And by making full use of enchantment, he strengthened his physical abilities and broke through difficult places with ease….

As soon as he entered the Quall Kingdom, he registered as an enchanter at the Adventurer’s Guild and was promoted to an S rank adventurer….

It seems that he is currently heading to the capital of the Quall Kingdom, <Qualarute>.

「I didn’t notice it at all. How pathetic…. Just what did I see from my brother…?」

When I look at the status card my brother left me and the equipment that the <Dragon’s Tears> brought to me, I’m overwhelmed with the joy of knowing that I’m being treasured by my brother, and at the same time, I feel pathetic for not noticing anything.

It seems that I was blind.

I had been following my brother’s back for a long time, but… I didn’t even notice a glimpse of his talent.

「It seems that Jink-kun was hiding it seriously, so it can’t be helped. Enchantment and Appraisal-type skills are difficult for others to tell if they are hidden by the user themselves. Besides, when I arrived at Rosalta’s capital, I thought that Jink-kun made the right decision.」

「If that information had leaked out to the country… there’s no doubt that Jink-sama would have been detained and deprived of his freedom. I’m really glad he kept it a secret, including from me….」

Are they really going to it that far, Elsa?

My brother was the heir of the Duke after all….

「You’re right. This country is seriously rotten. I only heard bad rumors about this country… and the rumors got worse after the talented prime minister’s family was murdered. When I actually came here, it was beyond my imagination….」

「The case about the poisoning of the prime minister’s family was so famous that it even reached Quall. I didn’t expect that the cause was because the king assaulted the prime minister’s daughter and created Jink-kun….」