Ch.60Raising a Little Sister NPC. (3)

“Mmm… big brother?”

“Oh my, is our princess awake?”

“Yeah. Where are we?”

“In the forest. Princess, can you hold this staff?”

“Yes.”

After Gorg dragged away those crazy women in both arms, Ira, who had been sleeping, opened her eyes and nuzzled her face against my chest with perfect timing.

Thank goodness. At least she didn’t have to see that madness.

I might seriously need to prepare myself to abandon those two. I don’t want my sister around such perverts.

“Here, Ira. Can you see that over there?”

“Yes. I can see the pile.”

“Good. Now, hold the staff like this. Yes, point it that way.”

I gently held Ira’s tiny hand to aim the staff, then taught her the incantation needed to activate it.

“Got it? Now, speak clearly and slowly. You can’t mispronounce anything, okay?”

“Okay.”

After setting Ira down, I covered her ears. Then Ira began counting in her sleepy voice.

“One. Two. Three. Fire!”

-Bang!

[AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!]

When Ira recited the spell, the built-in basic magic Fireball lazily flew toward the sack and exploded, causing a terrible monster’s scream to echo.

Wow, it burns well. I guess that’s expected since I put it in a flammable sack?

But Ira couldn’t hear that horrible sound, and only looked at me with an expression that asked, “Did I hear something?” She definitely didn’t hear everything.

And then

[-Occupation: Village Girl- Level 17 Name: Ira. Age: 10.]

[Strength: 8]

[Dexterity: 9]

[Intelligence: 44]

[Luck: 11]

[HP: 668]

[MP: 110]

Her stats rose tremendously in an instant, and all the stat-boosting bracelets and rings on Ira’s fingers and arms disappeared.

A literal level explosion.

It seems her level skyrocketed thanks to all the goblins we lured from the dungeon-grade cave.

Hmm. Maybe because her base stats were too low, it doesn’t look like much improvement, but her Luck, Intelligence, HP, and MP have increased enormously, except for Strength and Dexterity.

‘…She’s lucky, isn’t she? Ira definitely has talent as a mage.’

Her HP has only increased by about 100, but thanks to the Orc Champion’s bracelet we got last time, she now has HP equivalent to a level 40 character.

At least she won’t die from a single goblin hit now.

Plus, her MP and Intelligence increased by 1 per level. At this rate, by the time she reaches Ragni’s level, her Intelligence will be higher than hers.

Of course, Ragni has additional Intelligence-related skills, so a direct comparison wouldn’t be fair, but still, this is good.

I genuinely felt happy, and after confirming that all the goblins they had tied up were burned to death, I uncovered Ira’s ears.

“Big brother.”

“Yes?”

“I feel strange somehow. It’s like… how should I say it? My body feels comfortable.”

“Really? I guess Ira is growing up and getting healthier.”

“Yes! Hehe! I’ll get even healthier and keep traveling with you, big brother!”

“That’s right!! And big brother will always be with Ira.”

My sister seems much more articulate and intelligent in her pronunciation and way of speaking.

Could it be that her intelligence improved due to the stat increase? I hope this doesn’t mean she’ll soon be saying things like “Big brother, you stink, go away.”

Thinking about real-life little sister videos from my previous life, I really hope our Ira doesn’t turn out like that.

Of course, such worries quickly subsided when Ira threw herself into my arms, now fully awake, and rubbed her face against mine.

As I was gathering the goblins’ magic stones with Ira in tow…

“Huh? Gorg. What about those two?”

[I threw them into the orc cave.]

“…Really?”

[Yes. I really threw them in. Here.]

“……”

In Gorg’s hand was what appeared to be Ray’s sword, and it seemed he really did abandon those two.

Wait? So they were actually dropped into a monster den without weapons? Wait? Am I the party member who abandons others? Wait?!

[I thought taking their weapons might be a bit cruel, but when I heard what they were saying, I couldn’t help myself.]

“What exactly did they say?”

[They were arguing about wanting to feel the tingling sensation of their buttocks that master had spanked, and I lost my mind before I knew it.]

Those crazy women got what they deserved. And Gorg, you’d better behave if you don’t want to be abandoned too.

*

Now our party consists of just Gorg, Ira, and me.

With those useless companions gone, our path ahead should be bright and clear. Let’s try not to regret or feel miserable about it.

…is what didn’t happen.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!! S-sorry, I’m sorry, Jack! I’ll never do it again, so please! Anything but the orc cave!!! At least don’t take away our weapons!!”

“It was a crisis of chastity!! If Ray hadn’t been as strong as a beast, I would have been taken like a dog there!! I’m a virgin!!! I almost became a monster’s baby mama?!!”

Ray and Ragni returned covered in green blood, dragging several unconscious orcs before collapsing to the ground.

Well. With Ray, who’s nearly level 200, there was no real chance of them becoming monster fodder in this area.

Still, I did wonder if Ray might abandon Ragni and flee, but that’s not in her character.

Ray, who had clearly fought a fierce battle and even knocked out orcs as a gesture of apology, was gasping for breath and making a tearful face, asking Gorg to return her sword.

And then.

“Big brother. What does ‘taken like a dog’ mean?”

“Hey. Gorg, take them away and dump them again.”

“What?!! W-wait!! I’m sorry!! That’s not it!! Ira!! Please save me!!!”

“Huh?! W-wait a minute!! This time it wasn’t my fault, right?!! I’m sorry!! P-please spare me!! I don’t want to fight orcs without a weapon!! Pleeeease!!!”

“Big brother. Ragni and Ray sister are pitiful.”

“Gorg. Put them down.”

“Ack?!”

“Gwaak?!!”

Gorg, who was about to carry them on his shoulders and run off, dropped the two like baggage, causing Ray to land on her back and Ragni to plant her face on the ground.

Seriously, can’t you watch your language around my kid?

“S-sorry. I-Ira. That’s a bad word that I shouldn’t have used, and your brother is angry because I said it. You should never use it, okay?”

“Okay. Ragni needs to be careful with her words?”

“Urgh. Miss Ira has gotten smarter, what happened in that short time? Children grow fast, but she even called me sister instead of auntie…”

“Sister is sister. But if you do stupid things, I’ll tell big brother to throw you away.”

Ira has definitely become more intelligent.

It’s like she went from being a 10-year-old with the intelligence of a 7-year-old—perceptive and understanding but without much desire to express her own will or opinions—to a child who can properly express her thoughts and feelings.

Is this the power of leveling up, of intelligence?

But despite surpassing Ray in intelligence, she still shows childish traits, which suggests that while her speech improves and her understanding and self-expression get stronger, she doesn’t gain explosive intelligence beyond her age.

…Wait, then what about me with my Intelligence of 6?

“Gorg. Do the same thing with these orcs as before.”

[There seem to be fewer. Should I get more?]

“No. Let’s just do these and then go eat.”

[Yes.]

Gorg ignored the two idiots collapsed on the ground and began wrapping the orcs in sacks like before.

This should raise Ira’s level a bit more. Once we get Ira to around level 40 in Aigram, if we hear news about the tutorial situation breaking out, we’ll move to the EP.3 village. With all the money we have now, we could even rent a house instead of staying at a hotel.

After finishing Ira’s leveling, I checked her final stats.

[-Occupation: Village Girl- Level 19 Name: Ira. Age: 10.]

[Strength: 11]

[Dexterity: 9]

[Intelligence: 44]

[Luck: 17]

[HP: 698]

[MP: 125]

Seventeen levels in one day. Not a bad pace.

She’ll definitely exceed level 30 once we clear the dungeon in Aigram.

At that point, Ira won’t lose to random neighborhood thugs anymore. That alone should secure her safety quite well.

Then the next city we should head to is…

“Just so you know, we’re going to stay here for about a year. Raise your hand if you don’t like it. I’ll let you go right now with a good sum of money.”

This is “Goodbye Pidgeot! Season 1.” Come on, everyone raise your hands.

“Big brother. Will you let me go too?”

“Ira is excluded. You’re big brother’s forever.”

“Hehe!”

“I’ll follow you forever too!!”

“Sorry, but please take responsibility until the end. I’ll try not to be a burden while staying by your side.”

[Even if you let me go, only the golem would leave.]

I see. If everyone refuses to leave, then we need to find a place to stay together in Aigram.

We’ll just rent a place since we’ll only be staying for about a year. We have plenty of money anyway.

I explained our next objectives and goals to the three of them and Gorg. It wasn’t a constructive conversation for them, and I left out the part about Ponia, but…

“Isn’t that a bit strange? If it’s for Ira’s education, shouldn’t we go right now? Aren’t we already a bit late?”

“No. Ira is ten this year and will be eleven next year. To enroll her in the Academy’s elementary division, we need to wait until next year.”

“You mean Naty? I’ve heard of it, but they say only smart people get admitted. I heard you need outstanding talent too.”

“Our Ira is good enough to hold her own anywhere.”

“Ahem!! I’m smart! Big brother said I’m smart!!”

“Well. I’ll admit Ira is smart. So, we’re staying in Aigram until next year, right? Should I try to get a gun in the meantime?”

[I recommend gathering monster magic stones to strengthen the golem. It will definitely help.]

So we found a place to stay in Aigram and started living together.

When the EP.3 area [Land of Knowledge, Naty] tutorial breaks out, we’ll immediately go there and have Ira change her class to mage.

With perfect future plans, preparations, and funds, there should be no more unfair treatment.

And after waiting half a year for the tutorial to break out…

“M-monster parade!! A demon has appeared!!!”

“It’s a demon!! A demon of rage!!!”

“Demon followers have appeared!! Help!! Aaaaargh!!!”

…Why? Why is this happening when Ponia is fine?!! Why is Aigram breaking out first?!! Stop this unfairness!!!