Ch.54. New Beginning (4)

# 4. New Beginning (4)

Admirably, she had been worried about her brother who had been pushing himself too hard lately.

Of course, her mother and father were concerned as well, but not as much as she was.

“Sleep well.”

The girl with radiant golden hair, bright as sunshine, slowly closed the door after confirming that the boy had gone to bed.

She wore an expression of immense relief.

“Is your brother asleep?”

She automatically turned her head at the familiar voice.

As expected, her mother was standing where she was looking.

With a warm expression like sunshine.

“Yes, he’s sleeping now.”

“Take good care of him.”

“Yes, although he doesn’t seem to think he needs it.”

She finished with a slightly pouty expression.

It seemed she had some grievances with him.

“Still, look after him. He is your brother after all.”

“I was going to anyway.”

“But what was he doing that made him come home like that?”

Though her mother didn’t show it much, she seemed curious about what her son had been up to.

In a way, it was only natural.

Do parents need a reason to worry about their children?

“He said he’s trying to get into the Imperial Academy. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“The Imperial Academy?”

“Yes.”

“How interesting.”

Both she and her mother had been very interested in the changes they’d been seeing in him lately.

They wondered what had happened to make him work so hard and what he was trying to achieve.

“But why is he like that?”

“He said he likes someone, an idol? A celebrity? Anyway, someone who attends the Imperial Academy.”

“That’s interesting too.”

Even before he became a gaming addict, when his social relationships were still decent, he had never shown interest in romance.

And of course, during his gaming addict phase, even less so.

“Maybe he’s going through puberty now.”

“That could be it.”

Though she didn’t really think so, she agreed with her daughter, not wanting to dampen her spirits.

And as she looked at her son’s room, she thought:

‘Something must have happened.’

She recalled her son who had looked at her with reddened eyes, choking up.

‘He’ll tell me when the time is right.’

She decided to turn a blind eye for now, trusting her son.

Hoping deep in her heart that someday he would tell her about it…

***

“Mother, Father. I have something I want to tell you today.”

The house was filled with tension from the morning due to my announcement.

Everyone who heard my words was giving me questioning looks.

“You all know I came home covered in wounds yesterday, right?”

“Yes, we know very well. We were quite worried about it.”

My parents’ expressions darkened a bit when I brought up yesterday’s incident.

“I’m sorry. For yesterday, and for everything until now.”

Like my sister, my parents seemed to have been quite worried.

I was touched by that fact, but now wasn’t the time to indulge in such unnecessary sentiments.

“Such things will happen occasionally from now on, because I’ve found something I want to do.”

“So what is it you want to say?”

“Please don’t worry if I come home looking like that in the future. That’s my request.”

When I finished speaking, my father laughed so hard he nearly split his sides.

I was a bit surprised by this, as were my sister and mother.

Only after laughing for quite a while did my father speak.

“Alright, I won’t worry and will just watch.”

My father showed his curiosity with a subtle expression.

“Still, I’d like to know what it is you want to do.”

“I’m trying to enter the Imperial Academy.”

After hearing my words, my father spoke with a pleased expression.

“That’s good. Work hard. I’ll support you with all my might.”

“Thank you, Father.”

He seemed a bit surprised at me calling him “Father,” but soon showed his characteristic hearty laugh before returning to his room.

“I’ll support you too. Do your best.”

Following my father, my mother also gave me her support before returning to her room.

They must have suffered a lot because of me until now, but I was so grateful that they didn’t mention it at all.

“Hey.”

I turned my head abruptly, startled by my sister’s sudden voice.

“What?”

She fidgeted with her lips as if she had something to say.

“You better pass the exam…”

Following my parents, even she was supporting me. This situation made me incredibly happy.

That fact naturally lifted the corners of my mouth.

“What’s with that expression!?”

She frowned after seeing my face.

I couldn’t see my own expression, but judging by her reaction, I must have been making an extremely strange face.

“I’ll pass. I’m confident.”

“That’s good to see. It’s a hundred times better than before.”

She was right. Compared to my former self, I was growing tremendously.

But a mere hundredfold improvement was ridiculously insufficient.

“I need to get even better from now on.”

“That sounds like something an adult would say.”

Because I am an adult.

“It really doesn’t suit you.”

That comment was absurdly ridiculous, but it wasn’t wrong.

I was far from being an adult.

Even after becoming an adult, I had failed to act like one, behaving like a child instead.

I didn’t take responsibility for my actions like an adult should, and like a child, I ignored my mistakes.

Thinking about how pathetic I had been made me feel even more determined to work harder.

“But what does it matter if it doesn’t suit me? I’m not an adult yet anyway.”

Not an adult yet…

If I were my former self, those words would have been quite touching, but the situation was different now.

Back then, I might not have been an adult as she said, but now I definitely was.

Others might not see me as an adult, but in my own mind, I was one.

“Why did your expression get so serious again? Was I wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’m not an adult yet, that’s true. ‘Not yet.'”

***

Starting from the day I first went to the dungeon, I practically lived there.

Whether the weather was good or bad, regardless of my condition, I went to the dungeon every day without fail, like it was my job.

As my level started to support me somewhat, I began clearing E-rank dungeons instead of the F-rank ones I used to go to, which made things much harder.

It was already difficult before, but…

On days when I went to the dungeon, I always returned home covered in wounds, and each time, she would take care of me while grumbling.

“I told you to be careful! You could really die!”

“But I didn’t die.”

“This isn’t something to be taken so lightly! Don’t you see this blood?”

She always scolded me while looking at the blood I had shed.

Her words were nagging and scolding, but I didn’t dislike them.

“Learn some healing magic, seriously! Anyone who’s not a completely talentless idiot can learn it easily, so why don’t you?”

As she said, if I learned healing magic, I wouldn’t have to suffer like this, but…

“You think I haven’t tried?”

“What? Are you learning it?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Then what?”

“I’m saying I’m that talentless idiot.”

“…”

Unfortunately, I had no affinity for magic.

I had remarkably no talent for it, and as she said, I couldn’t even learn the supposedly easy healing magic.

My luck really was terrible.

“Just hurry up and treat me instead of standing there with that blank expression.”

“But I have some talent for magic, so why don’t you?”

“Do you want to get hit?”

Her teasing tone made me a bit angry.

It was especially irritating because she actually did have considerable talent for magic.

I had envied her talent in my previous life too.

Showing great aptitude for lightning magic and healing magic, she had thrived despite being an adult, unlike me, which made me incredibly envious.

“Or should I teach you? It’s my specialty.”

“No, it’s fine.”

One must know when to give up on things that won’t work despite effort.

Effort doesn’t solve everything.

“Aren’t you being too dismissive?”

“A person should know when to give up.”

“Seems like you’ve tried a lot already.”

“Well, yeah.”

As always, “giving up” is one way to solve a problem.

Not that I particularly like it.

“So what level are you now?”

She asks me that question every time I come home in this state.

Until yesterday, her tone suggested “All that suffering just to reach level what?” but today was different.

She was looking at me with an expression of genuine curiosity.

“Sixty-four.”

“Sixty-four!? You’ve leveled up a lot!”

I certainly had made significant progress.

Considering that my goal was to reach level 60 before the exam, being at level 64 now, with the exam just a week away, was definitely high.

“You’ll soon be close to my level.”

“What level are you?”

“Me? Ninety-one.”

Wow… 91.

That’s certainly high.

She probably ranks overwhelmingly first among her peers.

Having already undergone her first awakening and obtained her unique skill, the gap between her and her peers would have widened even more.

“Are you first in your class?”

“Of course. I’ve always been first among the middle school students.”

Although it’s middle school, being first at the Imperial Academy is no easy feat.

Especially since at the Imperial Academy, students undergo their first awakening through an exam held in the third year of middle school.

This makes it quite disadvantageous for first and second-year students without unique skills to reach the top ranks.

Nevertheless, she was a genius among geniuses, proudly maintaining the first position.

“Then, want to have a match with me?”

“A match? You mean a duel?”

“Of course, what else?”

“Where’s this confidence coming from?”

She looked genuinely surprised.

“I happen to be exceptionally good against magic users. So, are you in or not?”

“Well, alright.”