episode_0005

“Ouch.”

It hurts. Really hurts.

My whole body aches as if I’m going out to work in the fields for the first time.

“Brother!”

“Huh?!”

What came crashing down on me was a bitter pain.

This must be Lena’s doing – pinning me down like this.

“You’re up!”

“Well, yes, I’m up, but could you please move away a bit since it hurts…”

“Oh…”

Slowly getting up and sitting me down on the chair behind me, Lena.

But something feels different, like she’s become much prettier than before.

Her face and hair seem brighter, almost as if they’ve transformed.

Moreover, the room smells of a pleasant floral fragrance… completely different from the orphanage.

“Lena? Did your brother wake up because of – Oh.”

The door opens, revealing a shadowy figure.

However…

A nun.

Just like the ones I saw at the orphanage, clad in black robes and a white cloth peeking through between the hood.

“Lena!!”

I was drawn to something.

My hand naturally reached towards the corner of the room.

A creaking sound, my palm starting to feel hot.

– Swish.

“Ack?!”

The cloth engulfed in white flames, burning away, and the sword I held onto now grasping me.

The sharp edge of the extended blade pointing towards the black garment.

“Come here, Lena. Come!”

As I pulled her arm, she tumbled towards me as if flying.

Feeling the hand gripping my back, I exerted more force.

“Step back!”

“L-Lian? Calm down. I’m a nun serving God.”

“All the people in that orphanage were nuns too!”

Footsteps approaching.

Two men in black attire and a nun.

Are they planning to attack?

“No, no. It’s just that the boy we brought seems quite startled.”

“Don’t come closer!”

Feeling the fidgety hand behind me, Lena, holding me tighter, pushed me further back.

“Lena, can you explain to your brother?”

Explain? What explanation?

What did those people do to Lena that requires an explanation?

“….”

“Lena, do you remember the person who helped bandage your brother yesterday?”

The bandages burnt and torn by flames on my arm revealed bruising and finely crushed herbs beneath.

“It’s Sister Sherry. Can’t you recognize her?”

She’s wearing new clothes.

Her once graying hair has softened, and her previously dirty body is clean.

I have no memory of bathing myself, let alone leaving the orphanage after a bath.

So…

“Lena. These people, perhaps – ”

“I’m the one who applied herbs to Brother!”

With a swift movement of her head, she threw out those words…

And immediately clung to my back.

“I’m the one who wrapped the bandages around his hands!”

“Y-Yes, Lena. That’s true, Lena, but – ”

Approaching instead of retreating, Sister Sherry nodded her head.

Though she blocked the doorway, the people present didn’t hold any weapons.

Taking a slow look around, I could sense a different atmosphere.

Sunlight streaming into the room, a clean bed, a glass jar filled with flowers.

On the wall, a painting with intricate patterns hung, adding to the neat feeling.

Not that I disliked it… it just felt oddly formal.

“You mentioned being a nun? What kind of work do you do?”

“You mean me? Or…”

“Nuns are women religious, and we dedicate ourselves to faith. We go out to help those in need in the village, bring food, teach those who can’t read…”

“Do you make children work?”

Memories from the orphanage.

The boys and girls carrying pickaxes.

Us bending over in the fields every day.

“Do you hit them? Do you curse at them, calling them useless?”

“Lian, the monks don’t give children hand swords. Even containing foul words in their mouths – no, who said that?”

“The nuns from the orphanage.”

I remember the head nun who turned into a monster, swinging her fists and throwing books, and Lena.

The time spent there will never be forgotten.

“Lena, is that true?”

A hesitant nod, followed by her cheek pressing against my back again.

Could it be that we’ve never talked about this before?

“Father, this is…!”

“To ascertain the truth of the Holy Sword, an investigation team will come, so it seems appropriate to discuss that part together…”

A man in black emerged discreetly among the people.

The slight wrinkles on his face seemed to tell his age.

“Pleasure to meet you, Lian. I am Martinez, the priest of this church.”

“Did Lena mention my name?”

A faint smile appeared.

But the deep hollow between his eyes did not disappear.

“Lena only mentioned her name and yours; she didn’t say more. It seems today I get to hear your gentle voice once again.”

More eyes appeared between the doors.

All dressed in black, ears perked up.

“Excuse us, could you all please make way.”

With one word, they dispersed, and the door closed.

In the end, only Sister Sherry and Father… well, the priest remained in the room.

“Lian, and Lena. If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me what happened… and where you found that sword?”

“…You don’t know about that orphanage? They were wearing the same clothes?”

Sister Sherry, momentarily propping her chin with her hand, began muttering names.

Some were so faint that they couldn’t be heard, but none of them sounded familiar.

“Even if Romeo Orphanage is the farthest place from here, Marco wouldn’t have been unaware.”

“He said he had to go deep into the forest through a hidden path, and even the bushes made it hard to find.”

Two adults murmuring as if they knew nothing about what happened to us, heads close together.

Did they not know there was a monster?

“Alright. I will tell you our story.”

They seemed more inclined to speak than to strike us.

I reluctantly set down the heavy sword and began to speak, to shed light on those dark days.

***

“Well, dinner for two is ready.”

A plate filled with hearty soup, steaming potatoes, and pickled vegetables.

Warmth filled the meal, and my mouth opened involuntarily.

“I-Is this… okay for us to eat?”

“You don’t need to worry about the orphanage anymore.”

Lena’s earlier remark about the nuns came to mind.

But we had only met a day ago… Can we really trust them so soon?

“Hey, what are you doing over there?”

“Hurry up and take it to eat; it seems like your little sister is waiting.”

“I-I mean…”

She wasn’t really my sister.

I had just helped her a few times, and suddenly I became her brother.

“Hurry. Should I close the door?”

Before I could say anything, the door shut.

All that remained in my hand was a tray as heavy as the sword.

“What’s all this?”

“It’s our dinner. Let’s eat.”

We placed the food on the small table, took our seats, and Lena, eagerly anticipating the warm meal, looked at me with full cheeks.

“Eat.”

“Oh, um… You first, big brother.”

She wiped away the drool about to fall with her hand, gesturing for me to start.

Our hunger was probably the same.

“Ouch, it’s hot.”

The potato was as hot as it looked.

However, it wasn’t as painful as the Holy Sword, so with a toss or two in the air, I could easily catch it.

Peeling off the skin gently, picking up a piece of salted vegetable and putting it in my mouth…

“Here, eat.”

“You first, big brother!”

“You wrapped my bandages while I was sleeping. You can eat first.”

I reached out my hand closer to Lena, who was shaking her head.

Then, a loud rumbling sound was heard.

Eventually, the gatekeepers blocking the entrance gave way.

– Crunch, munch, munch…

Along with the sound of vegetables being sliced, the sound of potatoes melting in the mouth was vividly audible.

Unable to resist, just as I was about to peel another potato.

“Here, this one’s for you, big brother!”

“But you gave it to me to eat.”

“The other potatoes will get cold. You’re hungry too, big brother.”

A piece of green vegetable bitten into deeply on the imprint of teeth.

And behind that, a sparkling… no, twinkling eye.

“Hurry!”

In the end, I had no choice but to put the vegetable and the bright yellow inside my mouth.

…It was warm, slightly salty, yet sweet.

“Tastes… good.”

“Right! It’s completely different from what we had at the orphanage! The soup has a lot of chunks in it.”

I never thought food could fill the stomach like this.

The soup was so flavorful, with so much to chew.

It was delicious. Everything I put in my mouth was like that.

“Here!”

A bite of potato.

A piece of pickled vegetable.

A spoonful of soup.

Eating in a rush, my stomach quickly filled up.

Lena also smiled broadly, licking her lips.

…Come to think of it, didn’t Sister Sheri and Father mention something?

Lena didn’t say anything except her name.

But she helped well when talking about the orphanage earlier.

“You know, Lena.”

“Yeah, big brother.”

And even now.

She must have something to say.

When she was at the orphanage, it was even hard to make her lower her voice.

Why did she run and hide behind me when she already knew the people pointing swords at me?

“Why… didn’t you stop me?”

“Huh? When?”

“Earlier. When Sister Sheri saw me holding that.”

The Holy Sword that caught fire when I reached out, now safely wrapped in cloth and placed in a corner.

“If you knew, you should have told me sooner.”

“I only know you, big brother.”

“Huh?”

She only knows me. What does that mean?

Clothes, washing, bandaging, even today’s meal.

Everything was something I couldn’t have received if it weren’t for the nun.

“You protected me. You tried to protect me earlier, right? That’s why I trusted you.”

“Still.”

“That nun might have tried to deceive me.”

Her small hand firmly grasped mine.

Now I see… her palm full of red scars or maybe wounds.

Lena’s fingers stroking over them.

“I’ll trust only you, big brother.”

“…I see. But the people here seem nice.”

Scratching the bottom of the plate wasn’t because I was hungry, but because it was delicious.

Emptying everything without leaving a single piece of vegetable wasn’t to show gratitude, but because it was that good.

“I’m not sure.”

“Huh?”

“You never know. They might feed us a lot of food like they did at the orphanage, or ask for something.”

“But food…”

Worries that arise only after the stomach is full.

What happened there suddenly overlapped.

“Big brother, if something happens… you have to protect me, okay?”

That’s why she held my hand. Because she was anxious. Afraid.

How scared must she have been while I was unconscious?

In a place full of strangers, with her mouth tightly shut…

Now, little by little, I began to understand.

“Because you’re a hero, big brother. That’s why God must have given you Northchild Hero’s sword, right?”

“…I got it, Lena.”

My hand unconsciously reached out to Lena’s head, which was smiling brightly.

Stroking it as if petting an adorable puppy, she softly whispered, “Hee.”

Why did it feel so much like having a younger sister?

I never had a brother, a sister, or a sibling.

“Let’s stop now. If you sleep on the bed—”

“The bed is huge. Have you been sleeping next to me all this time?”

“Huh?”

Two pillows were placed there.

And a single large blanket.

It was real.

“But still—”

“You have to protect me at night too, big brother!”

Her hand grabbed mine once again.

Eyes shining like golden wolves in the night.

“…Am I a hero?”

“Yes. You are a hero.”

Led by a hand smaller than mine, I found myself pulled into bed.

Even until the moment I lay down, her hand didn’t let go, or rather…

Lena, who was embracing my back tightly.

“It was so warm when you did this last time.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Is it warmer now? Maybe because the blanket is thicker?”

A breath tickling the neck.

A cheek pressing against mine.

And arms starting to exert a bit more pressure.

“…Was it very tough for you?”

I gently held the hand reaching out towards me, nodding in response.

If I had a younger sibling, would I have done this for them?

“I understand. I’ll make sure to protect you.”

A promise spoken aloud.

And a door in front of me.

Despite the bright light from the lamps around, my eyes were gradually closing.

I must protect her.

Because I’m her big brother, I have to protect her…