For the Sake of Becoming a Worthy Onii-sama
Translator: Skythewood
Editors: Darkdhaos, TaintedDreams
The next morning.
The capital was in upheaval after what happened last night.
That was expected since the legendary chivalrous thief duo stormed the castle and robbed the Princess’ magic item by force.
And there were many powerful adventurers in the castle that night.
Legend about the exploits of the silver haired man and masked man exploded within the capital in an instant.
— And right now.
Something incredible was happening in the room I was in.
“D-d-darkness, please, calm down! There is a reason for this ahhhh! It’s cracking it’s cracking, my skull is going to explode!”
“Hey, listen to my explanation! After listening, you will understand that this is for a good cause! Please, listen to me first! I can’t take it if you use any more strength, I’ll die!”
“I will listen! I will listen alright!? Right, I am listening! This is just preparation before I listen to your explanation! I will judge after listening to your explanation whether I will strangle you two to death!”
Chris and I were called to a certain room in an inn, and were caught by her iron claw.
“Darkness, D-darkness! I can’t talk! I can’t talk like this!”
“Stop! I was coerced by Chris, the mastermind is the Big Boss Chris!”
After grabbing our temples and lifting us up, Darkness showed a stern expression.
“H-how can you say that! Hurts hurts! N-no, listen to me Darkness! Assistant-kun was really eager to do it! I was the one who proposed it, but when I wanted to withdraw after things blew up, Assistant-kun was the one who insisted we continue to break through!”
“That’s not right, Big Boss! I only joined the thieving group for one day! I’m just a minion with no status in the organization!”
“What thieving group, it’s just me and you! What hierarchy is there with just the two of us!?”
Forced to kneel on the floor with our temples grabbed tightly, Chris and I tried with all our might to push the responsibility to each other.
The furious expression on Darkness’ face was not appeased.
“Hey.”
“!?” x2
Darkness said coldly while we were bickering.
“Spit it out.”
We told her what happened honestly.
“— You two are really… Why didn’t you tell me? If you just told me about it clearly from the start, you wouldn’t need to do something so foolish. I would definitely have helped the both of you.”
After hearing us out, Darkness sighed deeply.
“Even if you say that… That is a divine relic that can swap bodies alright? If used well, immortality would be possible. When I heard about this, I wanted to inform the big wigs too. However, Chris said the more authority a person has, the more they would crave for this, and even royalty would abuse this divine relic…”
“I-I thought it would be fine to tell Darkness! When I suggested asking Darkness for help, Assistant-kun said ‘Hey stop! Darkness is a noble, if Chris’ real identity is revealed to the nobles, she would be placed in a bad situation’ and so I changed my mind!”
“Ah! W-why, you!”
Seeing us bickering again, Darkness sighed.
“It’s too late for that now. Luckily, only I know about the real identity of you two. Chris’ silver hair is too prominent, you should leave the capital as soon as possible and return to Axel. Kazuma… return to the castle with me immediately.”
“Hmm!? …Ah, you grabbed me too tightly just now, it still hurts! Sorry, let me rest here for a while…”
“Stop pretending to be retarded and follow me! We are going to pick up Aqua and Megumin, and bid farewell to Her Highness Iris.”
“Even if you say that, I don’t dare go to the castle that is on high alert after last night…! There is no guarantee that things won’t go wrong. If I am suspected and they bring out that lie detecting magic item, I will be done for!”
Chris scratched her cheeks with a wry smile as she watched me being dragged away and said:
“Well, work hard, Assistant-kun! And the divine relic has been sent to a place where it would never be stolen, so don’t worry. I-I will make a move first…”
“… Wait, Chris.”
“!? W-what is it!?”
Chris’ shoulders shivered as she was about to leave in a hurry.
“Is that all of your secrets? Do you have anything else you want to tell me?”
“… Ugh.”
“Seems like there is! So, what else are you keeping from me!? I knew you for a long time, I know your habits when you are in a pinch! That’s right, you will scratch the scar on your cheek! Tell me quick! What secrets are you keeping from me!?”
Chris who was forced into a corner looked towards me for help.
No matter how much you looked… If I don’t know what other secrets you have, I won’t be able to help…
Chris pointed my way.
“Assistant-kun stole something other than the divine relic!”
“Ahhh! You traitor!!”
“You criminal scum! What else did you steal!? Now you are a real thief! Hand it over! What exactly did you steal!?”
I gave up resisting and handed a book to her.
Darkness started flipping it.
“Why you…”
She sat down onto the floor weakly. At this moment, Chris muttered to herself.
“Ah… Right, he stole that too.”
“Hmm?”
“… Oh? Is there something else?”
When she heard that, Darkness stood up again and reached out her hand.
Did I steal anything else?
What else was there?
“Oh, ahhh! And this thing too! Back then, I used steal on Iris…”
I handed the thing I got from Iris to Darkness.
It was a ring Iris was wearing.
When she was preparing to take on Chris and me, the ring glowed. It should be some sort of magic item.
Darkness frowned as she stared at the ring on my palm. And then—
“…!? Y-y-you…!? You actually stole that from Her Highness Iris!?”
“Yes, yes I did… What, don’t be so alarmed, your shocked expression is scarier than your angry face! This isn’t anything important right!? Hey, are you trying to intimidate me!?”
After staring at the ring for a while, she returned it to my hand gently.
“Listen well, Kazuma. Do not ever lose this ring you hear me? And don’t let anyone know about this, keep it to your grave.”
“Hey don’t say that! S-since it is something so important, I will just say that I happened to find this up on the street and return it okay!?”
“You fool! This is something the children of royalty will wear all the time, and will only be removed as a gift for their partner in marriage! Lying about it being picked up by an adventurer on the street after it was stolen, this preposterous lie is too…! … Even if you return it out of goodwill, you will most likely be killed to keep the news from leaking out.”
“What the hell, that is scary! Ah, Chris! Where do you think you are going! Take responsibility for involving me in this troublesome problem, sneak into Iris’ room and return the ring!”
“That’s too scary! I don’t wanna! Why do you always steal something you shouldn’t with your skill! And Darkness, you have changed. You are actually thinking of hiding this. You were so inflexible in the past… are you more flexible in handling matters… But I have a feeling you have been poisoned deeply by Assistant-kun!”
“What…!? W-wait! I don’t feel that way! Did I really change!? Is it so bad that I don’t have time to worry about how much Princess Iris has been poisoned by Kazuma!?”
Ignoring Darkness who looked as if she suffered a huge blow, I held the ring under the sun.
“… Can’t be helped, I’ll bury it on the way back to the mansion, so no one will ever find it.”
“Don’t talk nonsense! That is something so important that Her Highness Iris keeps it with her all the time! So no matter what, you have to keep this ring on you and cherish it, also make sure no one ever finds it!”
“What kind of punishment game is this! Sigh, I understand. Then return that book to me. You can’t return that thing to the castle now anyway.”
“……” x2
The two of them looked at each other when they heard that, not knowing what to say—
— I was a walking corpse after the hellish suffering I went through when I arrived at the castle together with Darkness,
“Hey, walk properly! How can you be so dejected before Princess Iris!”
“Eh… Oh… What… There’s no need to burn it… That was the only reward I got from silently saving the kingdom…”
“Stop complaining! How unsightly. The lighter you invented was put to good use back then. That is a great item.”
“I didn’t invent the lighter for that… Ugh… Ugh… My precious…”
The book I was planning to keep as my ultimate treasure was burned by these two. That’s why I was so dejected.
Chris will probably leave the capital before they start their manhunt for the silver haired thief.
She mentioned that she would return to Axel if she felt like it. We would definitely meet again.
Well, I had fun working together with Chris this time.
If my identity was exposed and I become a wanted criminal, I might consider forming a thieving band with her.
I thought about that as I walked behind Darkness. Finally, Darkness stopped in front of Iris’ room.
“… If I bring you in when you are in such a condition, I think you will screw things up. I will explain about the divine relic, so you only need to stand there properly.”
“… Then why did you bring me along? My mental condition isn’t stable right now, if you leave me alone, I might just do something in the castle.”
“Are you a kid!? It can’t be helped, so you better not do anything unnecessary! I will explain the danger of that relic, and act out a scene, suggesting the idea that ‘the objective of the chivalrous thieves was to save Princess Iris’, that will be enough! Don’t create any more problems!”
I pushed Darkness who kept reminding me about that and opened the door widely.
“Moron! Can’t you even knock! … Your Highness Iris, this is Dustiness here! I have something urgent to consult with you!”
When I entered the room with Darkness, inside was—
“Hmmp, with me around, there is nothing to worry about! That dangerous divine relic has been sealed by me and can’t be used! So rest easy! And that thief really targeted something amazing huh!”
“As a magic item expert from the Crimson Magic Clan, I can guarantee that no one will be able to craft a divine relic of that level. This means that the incident is resolved!”
Megumin and Aqua who didn’t really do anything kept talking arrogantly.
“As expected of Aqua-dono and Megumin-dono, we can finally rest easy! When I heard about the true powers of that magic item from Aqua-dono, my face turned green!”
Rain sighed in relief and smiled gladly.
“… Speaking of which, what could the motives of these thieves be? From their reputation, they don’t seem to be people who will misuse the divine relic… Hmm? Lady Dustiness… and even this guy is here?”
Claire was as cold as ever.
Seemed like Aqua already explained the dangers of the divine relic to them.
“After their investigation, everyone knows how dangerous the divine relic is… We don’t need to act anymore.”
Darkness who realized she didn’t need to act anymore sighed in relief before Iris and the others.
“… Maybe the two of them were here to save me. They knew about the danger of that necklace, but were afraid that someone might target that divine relic if they told someone about it…”
Iris who was standing in the middle of the room surrounded by everyone said that. For some reason, she was staring straight at me…
… Could it be… She noticed my real identity as the thief?
“Princess Iris, that is unlikely. The citizens might hold the chivalrous thief in high regards, but they wouldn’t take the risk to break into the royal castle for such a noble reason.”
Claire said as she shut her eyes vexingly.
“… If that is true, the two of them deserve our respect…”
She said softly with a vexed voice with a little respect mixed in.
My friendliness value for Claire that was rock bottom spiked up instantly.
“Speaking of which, just who are the two of them. I thought I had a good grasp of powerful adventurers, but I don’t know where they came from. Especially that masked man… I only faced off against him for an instant, but he broke my staff from a great distance in that short moment.”
Hmm, what was this feeling, her words really made me happy, maybe…
“That masked man huh! He is really cool right!? And that mask and all black clothes! It really moved me! Next time we meet, I will ask for his autograph!”
“Me-Megumin-dono, he is still a criminal… That might be so, but that masked chivalrous thief is really strong… He subdued Mitsurugi-dono in an instant even though he was unarmed, I heard he took out half the knights in the castle…”
Megumin and Claire sighed.
Oh no, what should I do, I really felt like telling them that cool guy was me!
“What’s the matter Kazuma? Why are you laughing so disgustingly.”
Aqua who was cradling the bottle just like yesterday said.
It seemed about time to take that bottle from her.
Claire glared at me at the same time.
“That’s right, what’s with your stupid grin. Such a pity, your chance to catch the chivalrous thief is gone… But even if you had the chance, you are no match for that masked man, sigh… Really, why is that masked man working as a thief, if he wasn’t a criminal, I would have taken him in… We will meet again one day…”
Towards the end, Claire’s face turned slightly red. This was the first time I saw her acting like a woman.
I really wish to know whether this person was praising me or speaking ill of me.
Darkness who was beside me had a weird expression and kept quiet.
…At that moment, Iris looked my way.
“That chivalrous thief, is really handsome!”
She said while staring straight at me.
Hmm, this…
Was my real identity…
“The following is my assumption… The two of them only took action because they are worried about me… Maybe, I have fallen for that chivalrous thief…”
Alright, I will confess my identity!
When Darkness realized that I was going to take out my mask from my backpack, she glared at me and restrained my hand.
To stop her from bothering me, I was going to use Drain Touch…!
“Where could he be right now… That, silver haired, leader…”
… I lowered my hand.
I knew this would happen!
After seeing my suspicious actions, Iris lowered her blushing face, and her shoulders were shaking slightly.
… Hey, was she laughing right now!?
Finally, Iris stopped trembling and lifted her head, looked at me straight in the eyes as I was feeling petty, and said in a voice that quivered a little:
“… O-Onii-sama, I have a request.”
“Y-your Highness Iris?”
Claire who felt that something was wrong didn’t know what to say.
Aside from forcefully bringing me to the castle, Iris had never made any wilful request—
As if she had made up her mind, she clenched her fist and had a serious expression.
Just when she was about to say something—
“Princess Iris, please allow me to make a request first.”
Darkness who was beside me suddenly interjected.
Everyone turned their gaze to Darkness who fell on one knee and threw me a glance.
“This Satou Kazuma has indeed defeated many Demon King Army bosses. And he might be the one who defeats the Demon King. Doing so would be very difficult, not something anyone could do… Can you give some words of encouragement to this brave one who is challenging this highly impossible obstacle?”
Me, defeat, what?
“… Defeat the demon king? Really? Onii-sama, are you planning to defeat the Demon King?”
You too Iris, why ask such a question with a serious face?
This sort of thing was of course…
“Eh, ah, if there is a chance, I might consider… subjugating… the Demon King…?”
As I looked into her eyes, my answer started to waver…
From behind me, I could hear the sneer of Claire.
However…
“Is that so… Onii-sama can surely do so. Please work hard in subjugating the Demon King… May Onii-sama be victorious in all your battles!”
Iris smiled cheerfully as she said that, and everyone fell silent.
— No, someone still wanted to say something.
“Stop it with the ‘Onii-sama, Onii-sama’! You already have your own blood related Onii-sama! Why are you so intimate with him!? You are weakening my reason for existing if you keep using that, it makes me mad! I will bury the Demon King then! No need for Kazuma to go!”
Megumin who got angry for some reason suddenly said something stupid.
“O-Onii-sama is Onii-sama! What’s wrong with me calling Onii-sama as Onii-sama! And it would be meaningless for you to defeat the demon king! I want Onii-sama to be the one who defeats him!”
“I tell you to stop with the Onii-sama and now you use it consecutively, are you looking for a fight!?”
“W-wanna fight!? R-Royalty are very strong!”
Darkness separated the two who were in each other’s face in a panic.
“Hey Megumin, stop! You had such a good relations with the Princess just yesterday, but you are quarrelling with her now!? What are you trying to do!”
“Your Highness Iris, please calm down! You have never quarreled with anyone before, why are you doing that so suddenly!?”
In order to get back on topic, I said to Iris who was panting hard:
“… Well then, what is your request? You can ask for anything.”
I had some hope for this request.
From her reaction just now, did she want me to continue staying in this castle…!”
“Request… My request is…”
She was the one who was making the request, but she seemed very hesitant.
“We have yet to settle the match for our game. Please do so with me one day, okay!?”
Like a child pulling a prank, she had a smile befitting her age.
Intermission: The Greedy Noble and the Broken Devil
In the musty cellar, the panting sound ‘Yee— Yee—’ could be heard intermittently.
No matter how many times I heard it, it still sounded disgusting.
“Hey, Max… Get up Max!”
After being kicked hard, the one who was panting got up nonchalantly.
“Yee— Yee— W-what is it , Alderp? You looking for me? Ah, your emotions are tasty today too, Alderp!”
Those words sounded like he was toying with me, so I kicked the devil before me subconsciously.
Devil.
That’s right, the disgusting man here was a devil.
If you look closely, he seemed to be a very handsome youth, but there was no emotions on his face as he kept pouting, giving an eerie air about him.
“If not for my problem, who would come to you… There is a job for you. My divine relic has been stolen by a thief and sealed. You are to get it back and unseal it, understand?”
“Yee— Yee— Alderp, Alderp! This is impossible, Alderp! I don’t know where the divine relic is, and it is normally impossible to seal them. If it is sealed, I can’t do anything about it…!?”
I used all his strength to kick the devil who kept finding excuses.
“You can’t even do this, you piece of trash!? Just when are you going to grant my wish! Lalatina! You should have brought Lalatina over by now! Why can’t you even do something so simple!!”
“Yee— Yee— Yee— Yee—”
After being kicked a few times, the devil hugged his head and panted disgustingly.
Is this devil an idiot?
What a hopeless idiot.
He doesn’t have the ability to remember things, and will forget the orders given immediately/
Ahh… No matter the price, I have to get that divine relic back.
Things have been progressing too smoothly, so I got careless.
If I knew, I wouldn’t have aimed for the Prince’s body so aggressively.
— After setting up a marriage pact between Lalatina and the prince, I planned to take control of the Prince’s body and take everything I wanted into my hands.
The chance to grasp everything slipped away just like that.
In the end, a thief stole the divine relic out of nowhere.
Originally, I just needed to hand the relic to the Prince, chant the key phrase, destroy this body and the plan would work.
I regretted missing my chance, but the pressing matter right now was to find the relic.
Ahh, I should have swapped bodies with my son Walther…
If I don’t get the relic back, the reason I adopted that kid would be gone.
I worked so hard to find a handsome and smart kid.
If the matchmaking with Lalatina worked back then, there wouldn’t be a need to take such a big risk…!
“Lalatina! Lalatina! You are mine, Lalatina! So you know how long I have been watching you!? Lalatina!”
In the dim cellar, I shouted because of my fury of losing the divine relic.
“Yee— Yee—! Yee— Yee—! You are the best, Alderp! I really like the way you are true to your desires, and your cruelty! I really want to fulfil your wish as soon as possible and collect my price, Alderp! Come, give me work to do, Alderp! Tell me your desires quick, Alderp! Alderp!”
The disgusting devil started yelling.
What was with this guy?
He couldn’t retain his memories at all, no matter how many times I repeated my wish, he would forget about it.
If he wasn’t a ‘free lunch’ provider, granting my wish without paying the price, I would have summoned another devil long ago.
The rock in my hand…
The divine relic that could summon and command random monsters was held in my hand.
“I have only one wish! Bring me Lalatina! She belongs to me!”
I shouted my wish for the umpteenth time to the disgusting devil.
Epilogue 1: The Reward for the Hero
When the teleportation magic circle conjured by Rain disappeared, the surrounding became silent.
Without those few around, the difference was this huge. That was amazing.
“Your Highness Iris… Please don’t be too sad…”
Claire said to me as I stared at the place where the magic circle was.
“I understand that Your Highness had a happy and wonderful time when that guy came here. But… That guy lives in a different world from nobles after all. If you invest too much emotionally in a man, you will feel devastated when the time comes for you to marry. If you wish to scold me, please feel free to do so. But Princess, you have to understand…”
Claire then lowered her head deeply. I couldn’t see her eyes.
Rain who was besides her also lowered her head.
“I am fine, please raise your heads.”
The two of them lifted their heads slowly when they heard that.
Just from the pained expression from their faces, I understand how worried they were for me, and their resolve when they made their decision.
I didn’t hate them at all.
There was no reason to.
Lifting my hand into the air, I stared at my left fingers.
Only a part of the skin on my left ring finger was paler than the others.
Because I have worn this ring on my finger for a long time, and because I stayed under the sun for so long.
“…! M-my deep apologies! Because of my incompetence, your precious ring is…!”
“I am ready to take any punishment to make up for this mistake…!”
Seeing me looking at the mark where my ring used to be, the two of them became guilty.
However, I wasn’t feeling sad about my ring being stolen…
“The two of you had done your best. The thief managed to escape despite the congregation of powerful adventurers here. That’s why, no one could have stopped the ring from being stolen. When my father returns, I will ask him not to punish you two. That’s why, don’t treat this matter too seriously alright?”
When she heard that, Claire’s shrank her body further.
Claire was really competent, but too serious sometimes.
I think she should spend some time with him and learn how to be more flexible.
That’s right, just like Lalatina.
“Thank you for your clemency, Princess… Not only did you lose your important ring, you have to be apart from that person… Your Highness Iris, if that guy manages to vanquish a Demon King Army Boss again, you can meet him again…”
Claire consoled me with a complicated expression.
— Vanquishing a Demon King Army Boss.
This was a demanding task, but to him, it was just a walk in the park.
“You are right, I think that I will meet him again soon.”
After replying with a smile, Claire’s expression twisted in pain.
At this moment Rain said in a very cheerful voice to encourage me:
“By the way, after seeing how Princess Iris was acting, I thought you would say something wilful when you parted with Kazuma-sama, and had steeled myself for that… But you handled it smoothly. I was worried about Kazuma-sama’s negative influence, but thankfully, you didn’t behave that way.”
The atmosphere lightened in an instant.
“After all, I already made a promise with Onii-sama.”
I said to the two of them with a smile.
“Promise… Ah, you mean the part about settling the match next time? Your Highness, you must defeat that man alright!?”
Claire remembered another promise, but…
— Since ancient times, this kingdom had a custom.
The hero who defeated the Demon King and return victoriously will earn the right to take the Princess as his wife—
… I looked at the mark where my ring was once again, and said in a volume they couldn’t hear.
“I hope… Onii-sama keeps that ring carefully.”
Epilogue 2: The Dream Reposed in the Ring
With Rain’s teleport, we returned to Axel, our home.
“Aaahhhhhhh!”
I pounced onto the couch and screamed as I rolled around.
Darkness took a glance at me, then sat on the chair besides the couch and started sipping tea.
“Hey, you are noisy. You will disturb the neighbours, go to the suburbs if you want to shout.”
“Stop joking with me, bitch! You are always getting in my way during the crucial moments! If you didn’t bring up something stupid like the ‘Demon King’, Iris would have requested for something else! Like wanting to be together with Onii-sama, wanting to date Onii-sama, wanting to sleep with Onii-sama or something!”
“You just said something incredible! Don’t forget that Princess Iris is just twelve!! And she wouldn’t make these requests, at the most, she would ask you to be the official court jester. Also, you only live together with Her Highness for just a week!? Why are you so confident that you have won her heart in such a short time? Face reality… Here, I made some tea for you, drink it and calm down.”
“Don’t pull me away from my fantasy life with the Princess so suddenly! I don’t want to hear your logic! We just bidded farewell, give me some buffer time to get over it!”
Megumin glanced at our bickering sideways, and sat down on my other side.
“You too, Megumin, I know you have a short temper, but that last quarrel wasn’t necessary right?”
“That was just an unavoidable battle between fellow little sister type characters, and I don’t want to lose either. Actually, things were going fine when I went out on a trip with the Princess. However, we didn’t finish the task we set out to do because she picked a fight with ruffians. That is a farewell gift that fits my style, right?”
I wanted to retort ‘you are the Loli type, not the little sister type’, and ‘don’t teach the Princess weird things’. By the way, she had grown really close to Iris before I realized it.
They were about the same age, so they should be something like friends.
It was probably painful for her to bid farewell to her friend.
I took the tea Darkness offered me as I thought. Right then, Megumin took out a piece of paper and started writing quickly.
I took a look, and it seemed to be a letter for someone.
It must be for Iris.
As I drank my tea, I smiled wryly at her actions that weren’t honest at all.
Aqua couldn’t wait a moment longer as she took some wine glasses from the kitchen, placed the bottle and glasses on the table and sat down on the couch.
“Megumin, what are you writing? … I know, it must be a letter to the Princess huh? After the party ended last night, you even went to her room and chatted with her a while. She even addresses you as Megumin-Nee, I think you two are really close.”
In response, Megumin continued writing with a serious face.
“Wrong, this is a fan letter, so I can give it to that masked chivalrous thief if I ever meet him in the future.”
Darkness and I sprayed the tea in our mouths out.
“Hack…! Cough…! M-Megumin, just what do you like about that masked thief? A fan mail isn’t appropriate right? That guy is a criminal.”
Seemed like Darkness wasn’t planning to tell her the true identity of that chivalrous thief was me.
“I really like him though. After all, not many people have such taste in this day and age. Even in the eyes of the Crimson Magic Clan, that strange attire was out of this world. And they were invincible in their rampage through the castle with just the two of them, I even thought of standing on their side. This is not a love for the opposite sex, but the feeling of wanting to cheer for a hero I looked up to.”
… Oh no, now I don’t dare to say that chivalrous thief was me.
With a crisp ‘pop’, the living room was filled with a mild fragrance.
Aqua seemed to have opened the bottle.
“Hey, that smells nice, give me some too.”
“… You mean ‘Aqua-sama, please spare a little wine for this humble one’— right?”
… I decided, I will take it from her.
As I stood up to take the bottle from her, Aqua cocked it in a panic and hugged it tightly, balling herself up like a hedgehog.
“Hey, stop your futile resistance! Just give in!”
“No! Please! Spare me! Please, I will do anything!”
From the viewpoint of the bystanders, Aqua was acting as if I was going to do something cruel to her.
I shook the shoulders of Aqua who was balled up violently. At this moment, Darkness rubbed the insides of her thighs together as she tapped my shoulder with a flushed face.
“… I am willing to pay, let me enjoy that kind of play…”
“Play your ass! You were so cool in the castle, and now you become like this! … Damn, hey Aqua!”
I offered a compromise to the stubborn Aqua.
“I will go find the delicious wine from Michael-san that is even praised by the capital. Then we will make a bet with our wines. You did well for this incident too, so I will give you a handicap on how we will bet.”
When Aqua heard that, she lifted her head in a hurry and stared at my face.
“… Really? Kazuma is so eager to have a bet with me on who to buy the wine? There must be something up your sleeve.”
It seemed that she could still learn from her mistakes.
But if this went on, I will still win. I came prepared.
“Look, no matter what you say, we still resolved a crisis in the capital right? And we made it back home safely, which is cause for celebration. After all, one bottle is not enough for the three of us.”
“Wait a minute, you said bottle for three, so you are planning to let me drink juice alone! And what do you mean by return safely, didn’t Kazuma die to Kobolds!?”
“S-shut up, you! In the end I am still alive, and that’s good enough! And it is still too early for Megumin to drink! I will buy some nice ice cold Neroid, so just make do with that.”
When Megumin’s age was mentioned, Megumin smacked at the letter she was writing halfway.
“I am old enough to marry! What’s wrong with drinking a little wine!? Want to have a match to see who can drink more!?”
As expected of a different world. Speaking of which, Megumin was old enough to wed.
“Hey hey, Megumin, it’s better not to drink… but a celebration… Indeed, we stopped the conspiracy of some schemer out there. Alright, I will cook up some snacks. Since we returned safely, it isn’t bad to hold a victory party.”
Darkness got up after saying that and went to the kitchen.
Aqua started fidgeting when she heard the term ‘party’.
“… Hey, Kazuma hasn’t been back for more than a week, so forget about betting, I will bring some of my wine out and share it with everyone.”
Aqua placed the bottle on the table again after saying that.
‘You got away this time’— I thought about saying that, but endured it. It was a rare occasion for everyone to be in the mood for a drink.
It was just for a short time, but many things happened. I met a cute younger sister, and had to bid her farewell. Today, I will…
“Well then, I will buy the wine. If I let Kazuma go, I think I will end up drinking Neroid.”
Megumin said, and then rushed out of the room.
Shortly later, the fragrance of dishes came out from the kitchen.
“The snacks are ready, we just need some tricks to hype up the mood…”
After returning to our normal life, the days I spent in the castle seemed to feel like a dream.
Did I really lived for some time together with the Princess…?
And she called me Onii-sama, and even looked up to me…
To prove to myself that wasn’t a dream, I took out the ring and stared at it with deep emotions—
At this moment, Aqua who was looking for things to perform her tricks noticed the ring.
“Ah, hey Kazuma, can I borrow that ring for a moment? I will show you an amazing trick.”
Seeing Aqua reached for the ring, I kept it in a hurry—!