Chapter 85: Make Lots of Friends Rio but No Troublemakers, Alright? I Believe In You!

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

Richard, the head of the Rosegarden family, was asked by his wife.

It was a light question, posed because he was sitting unusually quiet, lost in thought.

“I was just lost in some old memories.”

A low voice replied.

What could his eyes, which seemed to be recalling a distant past, be seeing?

Others might not know, but to his wife, the wistfulness was as clear as day.

“When that child, all grown up, returned to my side, it felt as if my dead daughter had come back to life….”

Lin, who had lived in the Rosegarden castle since birth, had left for the Albion continent with her father.

Not long after, he heard the news that the airship she was on had crashed, and he cursed the world and God.

Following the daughter who died helplessly in his arms, the news of his granddaughter disappearing without a trace in a place beyond his reach caused even his deep faith to crumble.

All death and natural phenomena are the will of God.

In short, it was as if God himself had taken his most precious children from him.

However, Lin had survived.

A memento left by her mother had saved her.

And so, time passed, and when Lin finally returned to his side, he saw a familiar old face in hers.

“She certainly does resemble Leona a great deal.”

Richard quietly nodded at his wife’s words.

What was there to hide?

It was as if his daughter’s youthful face from her own childhood had traveled through time to find him.

He would never repeat the same mistake twice.

Having made that vow, Richard had thoroughly tightened the security within the castle and around her.

He had even changed the format of the recent examination; that alone said everything.

“At first, I thought that I must be the one to protect this child.”

Her appearance was a mirror image, but her talent was not.

As the very person who had destroyed that greatest talent with his own hands, he was all the more certain of it.

An old guilt, unknown even to his wife beside him, gave birth to a worry of equal depth, causing him to constantly hover around her.

“But I was wrong.”

That’s right.

Richard’s worries were unnecessary.

On the contrary, she displayed skills that were overwhelmingly superior to the other children who took the test, even surpassing her older brother, Rio, by a year.

“To think she created that homunculus by herself.”

An artificial spirit, a homunculus.

A fantastical creation that even the great alchemist ancestors who left their mark on the family records had failed to create time and time again.

Although she claimed it was a chance creation, her skill in handling and commanding it was undeniably real.

“Ah, speaking of which, I haven’t asked.”

His wife asked Richard.

She asked what their cute granddaughter had chosen from the family’s repository beneath the lake after the test.

“…She chose the ‘Oak Crusher’.”

To that, Richard replied that she had picked up the largest and most massive warhammer among the weapons resting in the repository.

Even she hadn’t anticipated Lin’s choice, and she paused for a moment.

“You mean that enormous weapon?”

“You wouldn’t understand. I didn’t either. So, wondering how she could possibly use something so heavy, I went to check on her. Can you guess? What that child was doing….”

When he said that Lin was melting the warhammer in a furnace, turning it back into an iron ingot, his wife was at a complete loss for words.

A brief silence.

Afterward, the two old spouses arrived at a single, logical conclusion.

“It felt as if my dead daughter had come back to life.”

“…She didn’t have to resemble her in that particular way.”

Just as a rose does not grow from an onion, only a rose can bloom from a rose.

Although, an onion is admittedly tastier when fried.

“My lord.”

“Yes. Are the preparations complete?”

Just then, the butler arrived to report that everything was ready for the departure.

The two slowly rose to their feet, preparing to see him off.

“The castle will feel much lonelier now….”

It was the day that the family’s second son, sixteen-year-old Rio Rosegarden, was leaving for the academy.

***

“…So, this day has finally come.”

Spring, with its sprouting buds, was in full bloom.

The day of my sixteen-year-old little brother Rio’s admission to the academy had arrived.

The academy’s admission criteria were as follows.

Sixteen years old, or more precisely, children who would turn seventeen on their birthday this year, would enroll in the academy.

“Our Rio is still such an immature child….”

However, whether he was sixteen or seventeen.

To me, at fifteen—soon to be sixteen after my birthday—he was nothing but a young kid.

By my past life’s standards, isn’t he at most a second-year high school student!?

…

Wait.

Now that I put it that way, it seems kind of okay?

Compared to the age of adulthood in my past life, there’s only a two-year difference, right?

A first-year might be different, but a second-year high school student is around the age when they start to mature and grow up.

Then… is it fine?

Huh?

Come to think of it, it’s actually a surprisingly reasonable standard, isn’t it?

That’s right.

Whether in Korea or the Empire, every human society eventually creates reasonable systems that fit its era.

In fact, under the Empire’s notion where one officially becomes an adult and can even marry on their fourteenth birthday, entering the academy at sixteen probably feels similar to entering a military academy.

Well, it’s more like a university than a high school.

And since they divide scores based on fighting each other, strictly speaking, it is indeed a military academy.

In other words, the vague worry I’m feeling about sending him to school is…

‘…This is what it feels like to send your little brother to the military.’

That’s what it was.

The real problem is that in a year, I have to enlist too.

Wait a minute.

If I think about it carefully, it really is an isekai military, isn’t it?

They conduct combat training disguised as classes all day long….

…

Keuk…!

I should have reincarnated with my military discharge papers…!

Well, seeing as I couldn’t even bring any travel money, I suppose I wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to pack my discharge papers.

Even though I say this, the difference between the two is like heaven and earth.

Right, it’s better than the military.

It was closer to sending a young son, who had been homeschooled without even attending kindergarten, to elementary school for the first time.

Yes.

Right.

Let’s go with that.

That seems more fitting for the emotions of a gentle older sister.

With that thought, I went to see Rio off as he left for the academy.

A luxurious carriage engraved with the Rosegarden family crest.

It looked far too large and majestic for a brief means of transport to the magic train platform.

“Rio.”

“Father.”

Dad and Rio shared a farewell hug.

Next, his grandfather and grandmother also offered words of wisdom and reluctant goodbyes.

After exchanging greetings, Rio turned his head towards me, the next in line.

As his one-year-younger older sister, I held Rio’s hand warmly this time.

“Rio, my dear….”

“I’m already starting to feel anxious.”

Just as I expected.

Rio said he was already feeling anxious about going to the academy.

For a prideful brat who would rather die than admit his own weakness….

The fact that he seemed quite nervous this time made me worry even more.

“Make sure you eat well.

Study hard. And if someone offers you sweet candy, don’t just follow them without thinking, okay?”

Yes. I admit it.

I’ll be honest.

Sending our Rio off to the academy feels like sending a child to the water’s edge.

I realized that no matter how much we bicker, he is still my precious little brother.

“Our Rio can make lots and lots of friends at school even without this older sister.

Ah, but you can’t hang out with bad friends, okay?

Our Rio is an adult now, right?

Your sister believes that our Rio is mature enough to make such distinctions!”

“……This is driving me crazy.”

It was almost time for him to leave.

It was now truly time to say goodbye.

After handing my little brother a small note that would be of great help to him, we shared a brief, affectionate hug.

Finally, Rio boarded the carriage.

“Don’t you ever forget to brush your teeth before bed!”

And just like that, the carriage carrying Rio slowly disappeared beyond the horizon.

***

Inside the Rosegarden family carriage.

Rio looked back at his younger sister, who was waving her hands vigorously until he was out of sight.

Only when the tips of her fingers were completely swallowed by the ground below did he finally turn his body to face forward.

“Hoo…”

A younger sister who would never grant him a normal farewell, even at the very end.

Rio thought it was just like her to still call herself his older sister, even though he, the older brother, was enrolling first.

But he knew.

He knew that such everyday actions were her own way of trying to ease his tension.

The younger sister he knew was a hopeless, flick-on-the-head-deserving fool, but she was by no means stupid.

Besides, it was only for a year.

Unlike with his father and the rest of the family, they would see each other again in a year, so a dramatic farewell would only create an embarrassing memory.

Rustle…

Before they hugged, his sister had pressed a small note into his hand.

Rio unfolded it.

Upon checking the note’s contents, he was once again at a loss for words, even though he had somewhat expected it.

The note said the following.

[How to Make Friends for Rio’s New Semester at the Academy!!]

[Ask about the other person’s hobby.]

[Do your interests match?]

[NO]

-> Return to 1 and ask about a different hobby.

[Do your interests match?]

[NO]

-> Return to 1 and ask about a different hobby.

[Do your interests match…]

“…….”

An infinitely repeating loop.

But surprisingly, his sister, who was a fool but not an idiot, had prepared a sufficient alternative.

: Conditional Execution

[After an arbitrary number of repetitions, halt the previous execution step and branch]

-> Change the topic of conversation to the universally loved ‘Raphael Magazine’

[Become Friends!!]

…

…

…

…Crumple!

It didn’t mean anything in particular.