episode_0048

“Wait a minute, bro.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why are you telling me that story now!”

The siblings were arguing with the table in the middle. No, it was the younger sibling who was openly attacking. The older sibling just had a blank expression and calmly talked about what had happened yesterday and today.

It wasn’t the usual bustling adventurer’s guild, but a quiet café nearby that Glenn knew well. It was a café run by an adventurer who had retired from the guild, and Glenn had never set foot in there except for a couple of times in the past.

After returning home, he went to pick up his younger sister who was coming home from work, and she insisted on going here. Since they had a lot to talk about, Glenn agreed.

My sister ordered a thick bread with meat and vegetables and tea, while Glenn ordered just tea and some fruit. Glenn savored his tea while admiring the freshness of the ingredients, and nonchalantly told me about what had happened so far.

And Alina, who heard everything with a half-frozen expression, immediately objected.

“That’s why I told you. And your voice is loud. I told you this is a cafe that respects silence. Alina.”

“Ah. Sorry, I’m sorry.”

Alina’s momentum, which had risen from her seat with a shout, subsided at those words. A few people who had been tasting their drinks around her turned their heads toward Glenn’s seat, but soon lost interest.

Alina blushed slightly. She must be embarrassed. It was her own fault.

“Anyway, tomorrow is the inauguration ceremony. I’ll be quite busy from the morning. I have to leave on a trip in a hurry the day after tomorrow.”

“That, that pilgrimage…for a year?”

“Yeah. 1 year.”

“Oh my god…is it okay to be gone for that long?”

Alina asked with an expression that said she couldn’t believe what she heard. Oh, this guy isn’t an adventurer. So it was natural that he didn’t know much about the ecology of adventurers. Glenn answered calmly.

“Some adventurers take 3, 5, or even 10 years to complete a quest, so it’s not really a long-term mission. Exploring dangerous places on the continent, guarding a specific village, it’s reasonable to expect that a lot of time is needed to complete such missions. From that perspective, this mission is quite short compared to the weight of the quest. You have to go around the continent in one year.”

“Oh, I see…”

She said that as if she was convinced by Glenn’s answer, but Glenn realized that Alina was not convinced at all. What is this guy? It seems like he has something to say. Why is he hesitating?

Alina fidgeted and rolled her eyes from side to side, seeming to be troubled. What could it be?

Finally, as Alina opened her mouth, Glenn’s doubts were resolved.

“That, oppa.”

“Ugh.”

“I understand that you and the saint are going on a pilgrimage together. I want to congratulate you.”

“The two of us, no! The church people and the adventurers are going together!”

“Let’s just skip the details…”

What do you mean by details?

Glenn wanted to protest more, but Alina’s expression looked quite serious, so he kept his mouth shut and just listened.

“But, if my brother leaves to carry out a long-term request like that…what should I do?”

“Ah…that?”

Aha. As expected.

Glenn realized, as expected, what Alina was worried about. Just yesterday, the second son of the horny Leicht family had threatened her, so Alina was anxious. Living alone in the capital from now on would be close to a hardship.

Glenn was also secretly worried about the situation his sister would be in. That’s why he had asked the guild master for various favors before coming here.

“Um…”

But how can I convey this smoothly? Glenn heard the wisdom of the guild master directly, but he was worried about how to explain it to Alina. It was a wise idea that was a bit surprising, but understandable, but since Glenn didn’t have the eloquence of a guild master, it was a bit difficult to explain it well.

“Oh, brother?”

“Ah, um…don’t worry about that. I had an idea too. That…”

Alina became more anxious as Glenn trailed off.

Erai. I don’t know. Let’s just convey the guild master’s thoughts as they are.

Glenn raised his right hand, opening only his index finger from his clenched fist.

“I’ve talked to the guild master. What should you and Alina do while I’m gone? First, I asked the guild master to get me a job at the Adventurer’s Guild. ”

“Oh, a job? A job?”

“Well, like bartending, or cooking, or working the guild reception desk, or something like that. But…”

Glenn stopped. It was a habit Alina had never seen before, something she had noticed Glenn do when he was explaining things to someone.

“The guild master said that it wasn’t bad, but if he respected my wishes, he said he had another offer for me and you.”

“Any other suggestions? What is it, what is it?”

Alina was slightly curious. No, it’s good to have expectations for a good offer, but this is a cafe that respects silence. Glenn sighed at Alina’s appearance that had become more assertive again and answered.

“He asked me if I wanted to become an adventurer. If you help me on a pilgrimage for a year as an apprentice, I’ll give you a license right away after a little verification.”

For a moment, my brother’s demeanor became dull.

“Huh, what? An adventurer?”

“Yes, an adventurer. Like me, a job where you take on requests from people here and there, solve them, and get paid. ”

Alina froze. Oh, you didn’t expect that. What on earth were you imagining? Well then. Glenn didn’t bother asking that. For now, he just relayed the guildmaster’s suggestion, so he waited for Alina’s answer.

Alina had a blank expression on her face, looking quite troubled. After some patience, Glenn’s sister finally licked her lips.

“Mom, adventurers…are a job that involves fighting others? Why are you doing that to me?”

“Just to point out a little, you can’t just say that you’re a good adventurer because you get requests for things like finding items, exploring terrain, and researching people, not just fighting. Even I, your older brother, have done background checks.”

Well, that background investigation… I just didn’t know that it would be the prelude to a huge disaster that would swallow up the entire island. Glenn’s painful memories came back to him, but his emotions didn’t twist as they had before. After all, meeting the saint was the prelude to healing.

Anyway, Glenn said that and closed his mouth, and Alina spoke again slowly.

“Ha, but… Everything I’ve done so far is far from being an adventurer. Chopping firewood, cooking, helping out at the bar… Honestly, I don’t get it at all. An adventurer? There’s no way I could do that…”

“Um…”

Glenn, too, thought so until recently. He believed so. He firmly believed that this guy was someone who deserved to be protected.

And in this capital, he thought it would be better for his younger sister to settle down by doing odd jobs first, and then get a more proper job and become independent, rather than becoming strong enough to protect herself.

It was definitely that way until the conversation with the two people a while ago and the advice I heard from the guild master today. First of all, it was Saika and Briwen.

‘Hey, Uncle Glen.’

‘Huh, Saika? You came by yourself first. What’s going on?’

‘It’s not just Saika. You don’t even care about me, you philandering brat?’

‘Eh, huh? Even Briwen…what’s wrong?’

‘First, listen to what our experienced rookie wizard has to say. Be quiet.’

‘Uncle Glenn. Your brother… You’ve lived a life far from adventures or fighting, right?’

‘Eh, huh? Oh, right.’

‘Really? Are you sure?’

‘Uh… once you hear her story, you can be sure. She never said anything other than working at a bar or doing housework. It didn’t seem like a lie. Why would she lie? Something like that?’

‘Really? Something strange…’

‘Why, why?’

‘Glenn, I’m sorry for you, but I think the same as Saika. Your little sister, have you really been living a normal life?’

‘Briwen, what’s wrong with you? Did he do something wrong?’

‘That’s not it. But…’

‘Sister Briwen. Let me explain.’

‘You, why do you call me uncle, but Briwen, who is much older than you…?’

‘what?’

‘Oh, no. I’ll just listen quietly.’

‘Ah, anyway… Uncle Glenn, I don’t know if you’ll understand since you’ve been ‘baptized’ yourself, but… wizards like us are basically sensitive to magic. We train our senses to be able to detect the magic around us. So, we can detect to some extent foreign magic, or people who are leaking magic around us. It takes a lot of training, though.’

‘I, I see. I’m not a wizard, but rather a mix of martial arts and magic… I’m not sure.’

‘I’m sorry, Glenn, but I know that too. In an elf village, acquiring knowledge of magic is basic.’

‘Damn it. Sorry the straps are too short! But what does that have to do with Alina?’

‘Sir, you really didn’t sense it? Your younger sister was oozing with energy. The magical power mixed with various attributes was leaking out and making me feel bad. It’s like she has the talent to control magical power, but she doesn’t know it at all, so she feels completely blocked up.’

‘Huh, huh? Really? No, wait. If that’s really so, then why didn’t I sense it?’

‘Hmm. This is a hypothesis, but… maybe because you’re siblings, your constitutions and magical properties are so similar, in other words, you were so used to it that you couldn’t detect it? Glen, you were able to utilize magical power through ‘baptism’ in the past, right? Your younger sister also seems to have a constitution that requires similar measures to utilize magical power. In Saika’s and my eyes.’

‘Huh…is that so?’

‘Yes, sir. I, your younger sister Alina, don’t have the strength or skills of you, but at least her potential magical power seems to be higher than yours. Much more so.’

‘oh my god…’

After the conversation between the two, which unintentionally strengthened the sibling relationship between Glenn and Alina, today, the guild master also whispered this for a similar reason.

‘The guild loves having a skilled wizard, Glenn. That’s why they want to recruit such talented people and have them join the guild. The same goes for Lady Glacier, the Schwenheiser brothers, Lady Sabre, Saika, and half-wizards like you.’

‘For what you say, it seems you are treating me poorly, Master?’

‘Unlucky? What do you mean to the best boss who gave you a vacation for over a year, you? Anyway, the guild always welcomes magicians with outstanding skills. Especially, those who have the potential but have not yet demonstrated such power, we want to keep them in the guild at all costs. Well, I’ll be honest. I do want your sister’s talent. I want to make her a member of the guild at all costs.’

‘Oh, really? By the way, how on earth did you know that my sister had magical talent?’

‘You think that Syca and Briwen only reported to you? Hey, Briwen?’

‘I’m the Guildmaster’s subordinate, you idiot Glen. You thought I’d keep quiet when you knew exactly what the Guildmaster wanted?’

‘Have you heard? Well, I’m more than willing to accept your proposal. I just want to make some changes to the content.’

‘Oh, that’s a relief. I thought the guild master would set strict conditions.’

‘Well, the content is a bit tight, so I guess your prediction was not wrong. I want to have your younger sister as an adventurer belonging to the guild.’

‘Huh? Then… right away for the adventurer qualification exam in two months? But I’ll be away and everyone else will be away, so who’ll guide me?’

‘Hmm? I’m not telling you to have your sister take the adventurer qualification exam in two months. Didn’t you know? Well, you became an adventurer ten years ago, so it’s not surprising that you don’t know about the recent changes to the adventurer exam.’

‘The test has changed?’

‘To be exact, there is a regular exam that grants adventurer qualifications based on written and practical tests, just like before, and an additional career exam that examines and grants adventurer qualifications has been added. And the conditions for that career exam are quite strict.’

‘When did you add that test… well… what are the conditions?’

“Let me say it again, after working as an experienced adventurer’s assistant for a year and gaining experience, you report to the guild and have your experience evaluated and receive an adventurer’s license. That way, you can learn magic from me, Briwen, and the wizards who will join you in the future, travel around the continent and gain all kinds of experience, and most of all, you can receive adventurer’s license based on your experience of completing the big quest of ‘Guarding the Saint’s Pilgrimage’, so it’s like killing three birds with one stone.”

“Oh, I see…I had that kind of magic…”

“Oh, you really didn’t know?”

“There’s no way I would know! I’ve been stuck in the countryside my whole life. I’m so busy trying to make a living, there’s no way I’d ever know something like that!”

“Well. That makes sense. You were with your parents, and I was an orphan, so I had to have something to survive.”

“Ah, that…sorry…oppa…”

Alina, who had been a little excited, returned to normal. What the heck. Why even apologize.

Although it was confirmed that they were siblings and they had met and talked to each other many times, there was still an awkwardness between them.

It was natural since the worlds they had lived in were different. Wouldn’t it be strange for siblings who had met after 20 years to get along so well right away?

“Anyway, I feel uneasy about leaving you here alone, and most of the colleagues I could have entrusted you with have already gone out to carry out requests, so I recommend that you choose to go with me, even if it’s a bit difficult. If you enjoy working at Uncle Brazy’s bookstore, I won’t force you.”

“…Is it hard to feel magic, to learn magic?”

“How could it be easy?”

Glenn wanted to tell the painful process of learning about magic, or more precisely, feeling and understanding magic. The sudden baptism, the pain and chills that surged through his entire body, and then the aftereffects that made him feel weak for a while, until he finally felt magic ‘properly’ and the symptoms finally subsided.

‘Oh, right, Glenn. Tell him that awakening your magical powers suddenly like you did is dangerous enough to be a gamble, but slowly and carefully awakening them is less risky and much safer. Of course, awakening your magical powers doesn’t mean you’re skilled at using magic.’

But as he returned, he remembered the information Briwen had given him and decided to abandon his wicked thoughts. What good would it do to increase his anxiety? He should tell him something that would help him on his journey ahead. Glenn opened his mouth with such compassion.

“It won’t be easy. If it were easy, there would be a world overflowing with wizards. But, slowly, if you take your time, take a year to awaken your magical powers, learn magic, and gain experience, you will definitely become skilled. Unlike me, you have enough time and people. ”

If Glendo’s master had been good at teaching magic, if he had been able to teach in a way other than ‘baptism’, then he would likely not have chosen such a painful path. However, his master was not a magician, but a martial artist, and although he had a keen eye for talent, he had no method or ability to slowly draw it out.

Yes, ‘baptism’ was a kind of expedient. It was an expedient that was close to gambling.

But Alina is different. She is accompanied on this journey by Glenn, who has a similar nature to her, a saint who is a master of sacred magic, two followers, and Briwen, who can use wind magic and has a wealth of knowledge about magic. Along the way, Sycamore and Saber will join, and above all, in the Northern Kingdom… there are those guys too.

If she has the will and practices, she will be able to fully awaken magic.

“Then…I’ll try.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah… This kind of opportunity, isn’t it rare? To awaken magical powers, learn magic, go on a journey… and even join the saint’s journey.”

Alina nodded her head awkwardly, making up her mind. Glenn felt like the corners of his mouth were going to rise for a moment, but he held it back. It was a strange feeling. He wanted to say that she was somehow special. Seeing her like this made his heart swell.

What is this? Is this what you call fatherly love, or rather, familial love? This is the first time I’ve felt this emotion, so I’m feeling embarrassed. Glenn tried not to say anything. In the meantime, Alina spoke first.

That’s a pretty mean thing to say.

“And, I can also see the precious sight of my brother hesitating and struggling in his first love. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”

“Huh, what? What? What, what are you talking about?”

“What are you ignoring? You told me everything last time. So, you and the saintess had a lovely time today too, right? Even tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, you’ll be right next to the saintess.”

“Ah, no. That’s true, but… No, that’s not true, but! What did I say before! I never said we were dating! I just said I was concerned.”

“Huh. Is that so? They say the quiet cat gets on the roof first. But does it only happen in front of other people? Or did the two of you actually do it together surprisingly? By any chance…”

“Stop it. Stop it! Don’t tease me about my brother’s love life, you bad little brother!”

“Huh? Who was that guy who was talking about respecting the quietness of this cafe a little while ago? I’m sure he was a short guy with black hair and red eyes who was wearing glasses and some pretty shabby clothes. Oh my! He looks exactly like the guy who was yelling at me?”

“Ugh…”

Alina was not an easy girl. She quickly took over the atmosphere and flanked Glenn. She started teasing Glenn, not in a physical sense, but in a verbal sense.

And Glenn, who was new to dating, was caught up in the honesty of his younger sister, who had been in relationships many times, and he was flustered and hesitated repeatedly.

It was a small conversation between siblings on a calm night, the day before the inauguration ceremony began.