v1c3 - 1

Chapter 3: The Hero Of The Olden Days

The dim light of a half-moon floating in the dark sky gently illuminated the town.  

By now, it was already late at night—the streets were devoid of people, and most buildings had their lights extinguished. Near the center of town, around the lord’s mansion, there were still many buildings with visible illumination—likely because the wealthy who lived there had no need to worry about fuel costs (whether magical light or firelight).  

……

“Hmph.”

In the central district… tall trees lined the streets, separating the wealthy quarter from the rest. Ostensibly a tree-lined avenue, it was, in practice, a “wall” dividing the commoners’ district from that of the rich and noble. Though not explicitly forbidden, the clear boundary made people hesitate to cross it. Only outsiders or those oblivious to the town’s unspoken rules would cross without purpose.

And now—

“Gaudy, tacky building, isn’t it?”

Muttering with a slightly sullen expression, a boy—no, a young man—stood atop one of those trees. At a height where a fall would guarantee serious injury, he didn’t cling to the trunk but stood with arms crossed, balancing naturally on a slender branch.

His sense of balance was extraordinary.  

He wore dark clothing, primarily black. It wasn’t completely black for the sake of camouflage… concealment. In dim light, like that of the moon or stars, pure black could stand out, appearing as a human-shaped hole in the landscape.

Toru Acura.

His gaze pierced through the cluster of buildings to the heart of the central district—the mansion of the lord, Roberto Abarth.

Though called a mansion, it was originally a fortress. Due to the long war, noble residences were typically built with fortress functions. With the end of the warring era, it became fashionable to remodel their exteriors into something more elegant, so it didn’t look overtly intimidating… but despite the ornate decorations… its foundation and structure were those of a fortress, naturally robust and complex, with stringent security. The walls were riddled with holes for firing arrows or magic, and a closer look revealed watchtowers at the four corners. Whether guards manned them around the clock was uncertain without checking.

“Hm…”

Toru mentally sketched a rough blueprint.

Saboteur training included “castle-toppling”—techniques for conquering enemy fortresses. While capturing a castle single-handedly was impossible, sabotaging ahead of the main force to ease the assault was a saboteur’s specialty.

Toru had been drilled in deducing internal structures from a fortress’s exterior and location.

In short, It was essentially, the reverse of an architect drafting blueprints while constructing a building, done in his head.

“Like this… and like that yeah,… probably about right.”

Finishing the mental blueprint, Toru scratched his cheek.

“…Tch. Never thought I’d end up picking a fight with a lord.”

“Getting cold feet, Nii-sama?”

A voice rose from below.

“Who’s getting cold feet?”

Toru tossed his voice downward, still staring at the mansion.

With nimble, monkey-like agility, climbing the branches and scaling the tree, was, of course, Akari Acura. She stood on a branch opposite Toru, sandwiching the trunk, and looked back at him.

“No, you’re right. My revered Nii-sama would never falter before anyone. My apologies. I must’ve been out of sorts.”

“…Is that so.”

“Surely, Nii-sama, even barehanded without weapons, with no armor, in his birthday suit, stark naked, would charge a million-strong army without hesitation…!”

“That’s just an idiot in every sense.”

Why the hell is being naked the default here?! Suppressing the urge to question her, Toru sighed. Despite having grown up together like real siblings, there were still times when he couldn’t fathom what this girl was thinking.  

Akari, meanwhile, spoke with an indignant air—her face, as usual, nearly expressionless.

“Absurd. Even if it’s Nii-sama, I won’t forgive anyone who insults my revered Nii-sama.”

“…Sorry. The idiot was you.”

“As long as you understand.”

“That's fine with you?” Growling, Toru cut off the ridiculous conversation. “So—Akari. How’s the west side?”

“Not much different from here. It’s not impossible for ‘castle-toppling,’ but the lord’s mansion—while not wartime levels—likely has a decent number of guards. They say he earned merits in the great war, so he’s probably got rewards and isn’t short on funds. He can afford to hire guards.”

“Is that so? A war hero? This lord?”

“Nii-sama, you should pay more attention to local gossip.”

“Sorry, I’m a shut-in.”

Toru replied with that same sullen expression.

In truth, since moving to Del Solant, Toru had barely left the house except when necessary. Akari, who actively engaged with the neighborhood—or rather, the refugee mutual-aid network—naturally had more local knowledge.

“I’m quite the gossip expert.”

“That’s not something to brag ab—wait, no, that’d make you a 'gossip monger.'"

“No, I’m also well-versed in bedroom techniques, despite lacking practical experience.”

“What the heck is that?”

“My mental rehearsals are flawless. I’m confident I could melt Nii-sama in one go.”

“That’s definitely not something to brag about!”

Toru shot a half-lidded, exasperated glare at his imouto, who puffed out her chest haughtily.

But, as expected, Akari seemed unfazed and swiftly changed the topic.

“The current head, Roberto Abarth, was part of the vanguard that stormed the imperial castle during the Gaz capital siege, I hear many call him a ‘hero.’”

“So, a lord, but quite the warrior.”

Toru muttered.

Nobles often wore ceremonial swords, but that didn’t mean they could wield them. Unless they came from a knightly or martial lineage that rose through deeds, nobles rarely fought on the front lines.

Conversely, a noble joining the vanguard in a critical battle likely meant they were skilled in martial arts or military matters. Of course, it could also mean their retainers or aides were the real power, and the noble himself was a fool.

“In that case…”

Toru stepped forward casually.

It was a nonchalant move, but there was no branch ahead but just empty air. Toru began to fall straight down. Yet, without panic, he grabbed branches mid-descent to slow himself, landing at the tree’s base almost silently.

A moment later, Akari descended similarly following.

“Mayb e we should rely on Chaika for backup.”

“About that, Nii-sama.”As they walked side by side, Akari said. “That little girl—can we really trust her?”

“Little girl? She’s not much younger than you.”

“My chest is bigger.”

“What’s your basis for talking?” Toru glared at Akari with half-lidded eyes. “Besides, she’s the client, isn’t she? Trust or not—”

“No, not that. Her skills as a mage.”

“…Oh, right. You didn’t see her, did you?”

Toru nodded.

Chaika’s magical skill as Toru had seen was impressive. He wasn’t a magic expert, so he couldn’t judge specifics, but… during the Unicorn fight, in that tense situation, she cast her spell without a single mistake. That was what Toru valued most.

Someone with advanced, versatile skills but mentally unstable, prone to failure.

Versus someone with one simple skill, but able to use it reliably in any situation.

In real combat, you’d pick the latter.

“She’s the real deal. No doubt”

“Is she?”

“Yeah. How do I put it…”

Once she decided, she didn’t waver—a singular focus, you could call it.

An unshakable core.

Having drifted aimlessly himself, Toru found Chaika’s lack of hesitation dazzling.

“She’s way more impressive than she looks.”

“I see.” Akari nodded, as if convinced. “So, Nii-sama prefers shape over size.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Breasts.”

“You’re really totally an idiot.”

Toru said earnestly.

“Hm? Isn’t this about being impressive once undressed?”

“I’m talking about her magical skills! And you brought it up!”

“Don’t get mad, Nii-sama. It was just a joke.”

“Your jokes are impossible to read!”

Especially since her expression barely changed.

With that—as per usual, if you could call it that—conversation, Toru and the others returned to their house, where Chaika awaited.

When they returned home, it looked like a battlefield or rather, it was a complete disaster.  

"…………"  

Tooru stood frozen in the doorway.  

Beside him, Akari stood equally still, her face as expressionless as ever.  

And where their gazes fell—  

"……Uuuh…"  

Chaika was sprawled on the floor.  

Not sitting, not standing—she was sprawled.  

Covered head to toe in some kind of sticky, white viscous liquid. And, as an added bonus, the place was littered with all sorts of debris—shattered dishes, furniture fragments—enough to make one think explosives or a blast-type spell had gone off. Though, to be fair, this was an abandoned ruin to begin with, so the remaining furniture had already been little more than wreckage.

“Failure. Failure.”

Chaika said, standing up.

Turning to the two dumbfounded figures at the entrance, she flashed a bright smile.

“Good evening. No. Welcome back.”

“Welcome back, my ass! What the hell are you doing!?”

Toru shouted.

Incidentally, Toru’s rough use of “you” for Chaika, despite her being younger, stemmed from her role as their employer. But that was beside the point.

“Late-night snack. Making. Failure.”

“No kidding.”

Toru said, exasperated.

By the way, Akari’s piercing stare beside him stung. Having just praised Chaika as “more impressive than she looks,” this disaster left Toru with no ground to stand on.

“Come to think of it, you’re kinda… clumsy in a lot of ways, aren’t you…”

Toru recalled their first meeting.

Chaika, trying to escape him, had darted back and forth only to end up right in front of him again—a truly foolish move, executed with utmost seriousness. Her magical skills and focus during casting were impressive, but in daily life, her clumsiness was almost painful to watch. He should’ve considered this possibility.

“Bread. Baking. Failure.”

For some reason, Chaika puffed out her chest proudly, declaring this with an air of importance.

However—

“How the heck do you fail this badly?”

“Heating magic. Power adjustment. Failure. Tehe~”

With a “tehe!” Chaika suddenly giggled sheepishly.

Her demeanor was so perfectly fitting for her age… no, almost too innocent and adorable. That said, with half-baked bread dough plastered over her head, a calm look revealed a spectacular mess.

“Just bake it with a normal fire!”

Apparently, her magic faltered without a sense of urgency. Or perhaps her success against the Unicorn was a fluke. Toru wanted to believe it wasn’t.

“Did you seriously go out of your way to buy wheat?”

“Completely out. Ingredients.”

“Guh…”

Toru was at a loss for words.

Well, it was true there were no ingredients. If the house had been stocked with food, Toru would never have met Chaika in the first place.

“What a mess…”

At this rate, she probably didn’t even know about fermenting dough or the like.

But that was beside the point…

“For now, let’s shelve this until tomorrow. I want to discuss the plan moving forward, but first, go wash up or at least wipe yourself down. There’s a water jug outside to the right.”

“Got it.”

Nodding firmly, Chaika headed outside.

Watching her go—

“I see.”

Akari nodded.

“Shut up.”

“Nii-sama, your taste seems to lean toward the slightly scatterbrained type, huh?”

“Just shut up already.”

“But, Nii-sama, rest easy. When it comes to being scatterbrained at the most critical moments, I’m confident I’m second to none.”

“As if that’s reassuring!”

Toru shouted with their as usual sibling interaction.