You Are All My Wings

"Hmm?!"

"You're awake?"

The unfamiliar voice startled Mine. She abruptly sat up, only to let out a muffled groan as a wave of soreness ran through her body.

"Where am I?"

An unfamiliar room, a soft bed, a white bed sheet over her body—her injuries even seemed to have been treated.

"This is an inn room. It's where we've rented a place for now. You were badly hurt."

"Grrr~"

Mine's stomach rumbled, and her face instantly flushed red.

"You're hungry, aren't you? I'll get you something to eat."

Akame did not mind at all and walked out as she spoke.

"Want to wipe your face?"

Kurome handed her a wrung-out wet towel. This girl had been assigned to share their room.

Looking at the girl beside the bed, Mine gradually recalled what had happened before she lost consciousness. She must have been saved.

"Right, my headscarf!"

Thinking of the keepsake her mother had left her, Mine immediately looked around frantically.

"Your headscarf is in your hand. You kept clutching it even after you passed out."

Kurome reminded her.

"Uh..."

She pulled her hand out from beneath the blanket and found that the headscarf her mother had left her was indeed still in her grasp. Perhaps because her arm was numb and sore, or because she had just woken up, she had not noticed it earlier.

Mine breathed a sigh of relief. She held the headscarf against her chest like a treasure before thanking Kurome beside her.

"You don't need to thank me. Broly Big Brother stopped that person in the end and helped you get your headscarf back. If you want to thank someone, thank Broly Big Brother."

"Mm."

Mine softly acknowledged it. She had remembered that, before passing out, a boy had indeed approached her and returned the headscarf to her.

"Hey, are you going to wipe your face or not?"

Kurome had stood beside the bed holding the towel for quite some time. Seeing the girl on the bed staring blankly into space, she could not help urging her.

"Ah, I'll wipe it!"

Coming back to herself, Mine sensed Kurome's displeasure and hurriedly agreed.

But in truth, while Mine had been unconscious, Kurome and Akame had already wiped her down.

Not only her face, but her body as well. They had also applied Medicinal Oil they had bought to the bruises and injuries on her body.

That was why Mine only felt sore now, rather than hurting so badly all over that she could barely get up. It was thanks to the Medicinal Oil.

The people of the Western Border of the Empire were simple and honest. While large-scale fighting was forbidden within the city, ordinary brawls were nothing unusual.

As a result, the doctors and injury medicine here were more effective than elsewhere.

"The doctor we brought in said you'd been malnourished for a long time and had some stomach and intestinal problems. He told us to give you lighter food.

This is an Old Hen we bought. We borrowed the inn's Kitchen to slaughter it fresh, and our companion Tsukushi made Chicken Porridge from it. She said it was good for restoring your health, and it tastes great. Try some."

Before long, Akame brought over a clay pot on a tray. The fragrance drifting out after she lifted its lid made Mine swallow.

"Do you need me to feed you?"

Akame asked.

"I can eat by myself."

Although the people who had saved her were probably good people, Mine had wandered alone for so long that she still felt uncomfortable with others getting too close.

But when she tried to raise her hand, she found her forearms swollen, sore, and weak. To protect the headscarf her mother had left her, Mine had taken many kicks to both forearms. She could not raise them at all now.

"I should feed you instead."

Akame sat beside the bed, scooped up some porridge with a spoon, blew on the steaming porridge to cool it down, and only then held it to the girl's lips.

"Thank you."

Mine's little face reddened. After thanking her, she no longer refused the kindness.

In less than twenty minutes, Akame fed the entire large pot of porridge to the girl.

"Do you want more? We cooked a lot."

Akame asked.

"That's enough. I'm full."

Mine hurriedly shook her head. Her Little Belly had been filled until it was round and bulging.

This was probably the fullest she had ever been in her life.

"Now that you're full, then..."

Kurome ran off to call Broly, and Broly soon arrived in the room.

Under Mine's somewhat uneasy gaze, he held out his hand to her.

"I want to become your best friend. Are you willing?"

Broly asked the question seriously.

Mine was left somewhat at a loss by the question.

She had suddenly been saved, suddenly had something important returned to her, suddenly been treated gently, and now the boy who seemed to be the leader of the group that had saved her was suddenly asking to become her best friend. Mine's mind could barely process it all.

"Why?"

In the end, Mine voiced her confusion.

"Because the Crystal Palace acknowledges you."

Broly answered honestly. Akame and Kurome, standing nearby, understood that the girl on the bed was probably the same type of person as them and might hold some special meaning to Broly Big Brother.

Even before this, Akame and Kurome had been able to sense it. The other children could sense it too—Broly treated the two of them with special care.

It was just that no one had ever asked why, and Akame and Kurome had not asked either, so they did not know the reason.

Now, because Mine, the girl they had rescued, had raised the question, they finally heard the answer about the Crystal Palace from Broly.

"The Crystal Palace acknowledges me? But who is the Crystal Palace?"

Mine was certain she did not know anyone called the Crystal Palace.

"The Crystal Palace is a module the system compensated me with. That's what the Crystal Palace said, and its purpose is to help me discover Targets for Capture in different worlds.

"And I'll help Capture Targets like you attain the greatest happiness, until they finally accept my invitation and join my Crystal Palace as my wife."

Broly explained Mine's doubts in detail, leaving the other two girls in the room with their mouths hanging open.

"So, Broly Big Brother, you want to marry both me and Older Sister as your wives?!"

Kurome suddenly understood.

"Is that not okay?"

Broly asked directly, somewhat worried.

"It's not that it isn't okay."

Akame thought for a moment before answering. She truly did not want to be separated from her younger sister.

"That's good."

Broly relaxed. If either Akame or Kurome had been unwilling, he would have been heartbroken for a long time.

Both sisters currently had Happiness Values above two hundred, and Akame's was even close to reaching 300.

"You are all my wings."

Those words appeared in Broly's mind, and he immediately said them seriously before spreading his arms.

Akame and Kurome looked at him in confusion, while Broly looked back at them in equal confusion.

He had merely spread his arms instinctively, and it seemed to be the corresponding gesture for the words that had appeared in his mind.

Akame was somewhat puzzled, but her mind raced. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as though she had thought of something, and she moved toward Broly's arm.

Seeing her older sister act, Kurome also suddenly understood and copied her, moving to Broly's other arm.

Then, right there in the room and before Mine's eyes, the three of them formed a Roc Spreading Wings Human Art tableau.

Broly raised both arms high, while Akame and Kurome each clung to one of his arms, struggling to support themselves sideways. Like wings, their bodies trembled as they tried to imitate a great bird flapping its wings.

The scene was far too abstract, yet strangely vivid. It even made Mine feel as though she should get out of bed, cling behind the boy, and serve as the Tail Feather Part of this Roc Spreading Wings Human Art illustration.

However, when she imagined supporting her entire body with her little hands while trembling at an angle, Mine realized that was simply impossible for her. She sensibly gave up on the idea of participating in this special artistic act.

"So, do you want to become one of my wings?"

Broly asked while maintaining the pose of holding up the two girls with his raised arms.

"I don't think I can hold onto your arms as tightly as they can."

"That's okay. As long as I can hold onto you tightly."

Broly set Akame and Kurome down. The faces of the two girls who had performed the difficult act of imitating a bird flapping its wings were both a little red from exertion.

"You only need to give me your hand. I'll protect you and never let you be hurt again. I'll work hard to make you happy."

Broly held out his hand to Mine once more. Mine looked at Broly, then at the Twin-Eyed Sisters, then at the headscarf that had nearly been taken from her.

"My name is Mine. If you don't mind that I have Different Race Bloodline, then I'm willing to become your wife."

Mine placed her hand in Broly's and said so.

The Target for Capture, Mine, is preparing to offer herself in return for the kindness of having her keepsake returned. She is requesting to become an Official Member of your Crystal Palace. Do you agree now?

Broly refused Mine's request to join right now. He had to wait until he had raised her Happiness Value to a very high level before inviting her into the Crystal Palace.

"Eh?!"

Mine was somewhat surprised, but she gladly accepted. Meeting Broly had brought her wandering life to an abrupt end.

Afterward, when the others in the merchant caravan learned of it, none of them reacted much. After all, they had even taken in the Bandit Slaves' caravan, so they hardly cared about adding one more mixed-blood Different Race girl.

"Set off!"

After resting in Border City for two days, Big Brother's Merchant Caravan set out again, using the money from selling their goods to purchase merchandise that sold better farther south.

Mine's injuries were no longer a concern. Even while sitting in the carriage, she could laugh and chat with the other children.

The headscarf her mother had left her was washed clean and tied around her hair. It was no longer used to conceal her Different Race hair color, but served as a rubber band to tie up her hair.