Aisha 4

When my consciousness returned, I was back in that pure white space again.

Come on. I was already dead, so how could I still see you?

"Don't say that~ It's not as if you died because of me."

How was it not because of you?! If I'd known that accepting your benefits meant facing an enemy like that, I never would have listened to your advice.

"The fact is, you didn't listen to my advice, did you?"

You spend all day talking in riddles like some mystic. I'd be crazy not to suspect you.

"Hehe~"

So, what happens after someone dies?

"They disappear. Not just the body—their consciousness vanishes completely too."

Ah... What about my brother?

"What if I said he died too?"

...I don't know. I'm already dead. I can't even take revenge.

"Why do you think you're dead?"

Huh? I'm not dead?

"That's right~ That brother of yours, whose pride is higher than the sky, even knelt down and begged that Dragon God for mercy. Now your brother has joined his ranks. What a pain."

Then... my brother and I... neither of us died?

"Correct. But your brother has become that Dragon God's subordinate."

None of that matters. As long as we're both alive...

"Aren't you afraid?"

Hm? Afraid of what?

"That Dragon God coming back again and killing you siblings on the spot."

Since he let us go, he shouldn't have any reason to attack us again... right?

"Who knows~"

So, since I'm not dead, why did you pull me in here?

"Since the Dragon God has shown up, I'll tell you some truths."

Oh? Go on.

"Actually~ I can see the future. A very blurry future. Originally, fate was supposed to be that I helped you, and after you grew stronger, you became my subordinate or something like that. But because of that Dragon God's actions, the future changed."

Changed into what?

"I told you, it's very blurry."

Mm... You're still being so vague. It really makes it hard to trust you.

"Huh~ Even though I gave you so much advice."

But you never said what your goal was... In that case, I might as well sell you out. My brother has already joined that person's ranks anyway.

"Hm? Are you sure?"

I'm sure. Compared to someone like you, who I can't see or touch, maybe becoming that person's subordinate and working diligently for him might lead to a better ending.

"Even if the world is destroyed because of it?"

As long as my brother and I are still alive right now, that's enough.

"You little brat. How selfish."

My brother and I were clearly just living ordinary lives, and then inexplicable people like you dragged us into all this. And you're calling me selfish?

"As long as you keep following my advice from here on out, I'll let you live a peaceful life. Didn't this whole incident happen because you didn't follow my advice and went to the Red Dragon's Jaw?"

You have a point... But I don't want to listen anymore. Our conversation ends here. Let me out.

"Are you sure you want to betray me? If I decide to harm your family, you won't be able to stop me."

This isn't betrayal. I was never loyal to you in the first place.

"How heartbreaking~"

If that person wanted to kill my family, I'd be even less able to stop him. As for you... you're mostly bluffing, aren't you?

"Fine. Then from now on, I'll do everything I can to kill the brother you love most. If one day you regret this, take off your bracelet."

Bracelet? What bracelet?

When I opened my eyes again, what came into view was an upside-down icicle.

"Aisha? You're awake?"

"Ah... Sister Eris..."

I opened my mouth, about to ask where my brother was, but when I came back to myself, I realized he was lying in Sister Eris's arms.

For some reason... my brother's hair had turned a little white.

"Can you cast fire magic? I'm not very good at controlling it, so I don't dare..."

"Mm..."

After I used magic to make a flame, I used healing magic to treat Sister Eris's broken bones.

The three of us must have looked terribly battered right now...

After I had no idea how much time had passed, my brother woke up.

"Aisha...! Eris!"

When my brother woke up, he called out my and Sister Eris's names.

It seemed like he had startled awake from a dream.

After waking up, he looked at me and Sister Eris for quite a while before letting out a breath of relief.

"You're... okay... That's all that matters..."

"What do you mean, that's all that matters?! Rudeus, your hair's turned a little white! Did you catch some kind of illness? Or did that person put a curse on you..."

Sister Eris held my brother's cheeks in both hands, and as she spoke, tears began to fall.

For some reason, faced with my brother like this, I couldn't say a word.

All of this... seemed to have happened because of me...

"Eris... don't cry. We're all alive and fine, aren't we?"

"Aisha almost died! So did you, Rudeus! If I were stronger... stronger than Ghislaine... I definitely could've held that man back..."

"There's no need to put yourself down like that. Eris, you're already very strong for your age."

My brother raised his hand and stroked Eris's cheek, as if wiping away her tears.

Suddenly, Sister Eris went straight for my brother's lips and kissed him.

My brother was startled and first pushed Sister Eris away.

"What are you doing... Aisha's watching..."

"Aisha, close your eyes for a bit."

Sister Eris said that to me, then, without caring whether I had closed my eyes or not, kissed him again.

Wow...

How should I put it...

In front of Sister Eris, my brother was like a little woman.

Anyway, I raised my hand and narrowed my eyes behind it, watching Sister Eris and my brother kiss through the gaps between my fingers.

Two minutes later, Sister Eris let go of my brother, and after panting for a while, my brother looked at me, as if wanting to confirm whether I had seen it.

Sorry, Brother. I saw everything...

"Rudeus... I love you..."

"Mm, I love you too, Eris."

Wow, my brother and Eris really didn't seem like people who were thirteen and fifteen...

They were so mature...

"Aisha, come here."

While my thoughts were all over the place, my brother beckoned me over.

I walked over in a daze, and my brother immediately hugged me.

"I almost thought I was going to lose my little sister..."

"I'm sorry, Brother... I've been hiding something from you..."

"I know. It's okay. No matter what, you're still my little sister. I love you."

"Ah... mm..."

For some reason, right now, I couldn't seem to openly say the words "I love you too."

Was it guilt? Or was I embarrassed?...

"Put this bracelet on first. I don't know what it does either, but..."

Without hesitating, I immediately put on the bracelet my brother handed me.

This should have been given to Brother by that man, right? Was this the bracelet the Human-God mentioned?

"Aisha, Eris... It's embarrassing to say, but I just begged that man for mercy. If necessary, I'll do things for him."

When Sister Eris heard that, she clenched her fists.

"Rudeus... if you don't want to, I'll... get stronger, and then help you defeat him."

"We'll see... In any case, we should keep traveling according to plan, right?"

Seeing that Eris and I didn't seem to have much more to say, my brother stood up too and patted the dust off himself.

"All right, don't look so gloomy. Working for that man might not necessarily be a bad thing. He called himself the Dragon God, and as far as I know, that's a major figure ranked second among the Seven Great Powers. In that sense, we've got ourselves a backer now, don't we?"

"Mm..."

Eris nodded blankly, as if lost in thought.

In any case, we still began our journey according to the original plan.