Chapter 146: Brother-in-Law and Little Brother-in-Law
Loki, originally ranked 7th among the top thirteen, later voluntarily downgraded his rank out of concern for his sister, and even tried to get her to withdraw from the Night Party.
But his personality was too twisted, and his methods were extreme. So in the eyes of outsiders, he was just simply bullying his own sister.
...If you thought Kobayashi understood him, you would be gravely mistaken.
Loki's personality was very similar to a certain male rival from My Hero Academia who was constantly violent towards the male lead, and in the end was still whitewashed as a "tsundere" asshole. Precisely because of this, the desire to beat him up grew even stronger.
However, the angel-type small Gundam automaton was quite nice. Of course, only in terms of its appearance and its mechanical voice when it answered.
"Well now, it's a good thing I arrived in time, otherwise a bloody incident would have occurred."
Kobayashi's tone was very calm. But both his eyes and his movements made it clear that the one who would have been bleeding would be Loki.
Being up close, he discovered that the siblings had many things in common.
In a word, apart from their chests and height, the two of them were almost identical in hair, eyes, face shape, and skin.
Loki's eyes slowly turned to him. He raised an eyebrow slightly. That gaze was extremely fierce and sharp, as if a bright light were constantly flowing within it.
Good grief! You have a lion hidden in your eyes too?
Seeing that he was unaffected, Loki became even more ferocious. The mana in his body instantly burst forth, putting pressure on the man who had suddenly intruded.
How dare he call my sister a pet?!
The sister-doting mad demon was going to make him pay!
The mana radiating from his entire body forced the surrounding people back. He had thought that the man before him would be like the others, but he hadn't expected him to also radiate a powerful mana.
The mana surged upwards, rushing into the sky. Purple and blue occupied their entire vision.
They were evenly matched.
"This guy is not to be underestimated." x2
Both had the same thought.
Since coming to this world, he had never met a guy with such powerful mana. Stronger than Felix and Charlotte, and countless times stronger than Raishin.
As expected of the one who had never lost a real battle, the final victor of the Night Party, the [Thunder Emperor, Wiseman of the Blue Sky].
And I only got this by spending points to level up!
But when he thought that the other party had gotten it by sacrificing his family, he wasn't jealous anymore.
Loki was also secretly shocked.
This man who suddenly appeared is not only strong in martial arts, but his mana is also on par with mine? Don't tell me he's an artificial machinart sent by some factory, just like me? Then his purpose in getting close to my sister is very likely intentional!
Loki suddenly said in a voice so cold it could freeze people, "Who... are you?"
"Kobayashi. An unqualified puppeteer," he replied.
"Hmph. I can see that."
A puppeteer should use an automaton for a duel. What kind of proper person enters the field themselves? Except for the weirdo in front of him.
"It's rare for you to make an appearance, but I'm sorry... get out of my way."
"I refuse."
"I will kill you."
"You can try."
"...Although I am both humble and tolerant, there are still three types of people I cannot forgive: those who order me around, those who defy me, and... Easterners who don't know their own worth."
"Then do you want to hug me and see how much I weigh?"
Their gazes clashed fiercely, sending out sparks invisible to the naked eye. The atmosphere on the scene was on the verge of exploding. The crowd of onlookers, afraid of being caught up in it, quickly created distance.
The argument continued to escalate.
"What did you mean just now when you said 'pet'?"
"Nothing."
"Huh?!"
"'The weak must obey the strong,' isn't that your line? I just put it into practice first."
"What did you say?!"
"Are you triggered?"
"No!"
"You're triggered, you're triggered."
"I'm not!!!"
Even if he wanted to hide the fact that he was losing his composure because of his sister, his flustered and exasperated appearance had already exposed him.
"Loki..."
Frey called out to him with concern, but the angry sister-doting mad demon had completely ignored her voice.
"How unpleasant! Since that's the case, then you can try and stop me with all your might!" he said, angrily ordering his automaton to attack.
Although he was acting impulsively, if he could take this opportunity to test the other party's origins, he would be more than happy to do so. Don't be fooled by his appearance as a hot-tempered youth; his mind was very flexible.
"...The one who doesn't know their own worth is you, isn't it?"
RyuZU's scythes extended from under her skirt.
Just as they were about to fight, several dazzling rays of light descended from the sky, incidentally cutting through the iron cage that held Frey, and landed squarely between the two.
—A beam cannon!
To be able to condense diffusive mana into the shape of a gun... he knew of only one person who could do that.
"That's enough. I say, what are you all arguing about over such a boring thing?"
A beautiful girl with a helpless expression appeared. Behind her stood a giant dragon, eight meters long. Its steel-like scales shone like velvet, and the wings on its chest had a majestic aura.
"Charlotte."
"It's Charlotte!" she corrected angrily.
The handsome boy with the fierce eyes did not apologize, but instead questioned, "Are you going to interfere with me too?!"
"It's your business if you want to fight each other, but can you please look at the time and place? If you have a big fight here, you'll cause trouble for everyone!" she said, gesturing with her eyes to the crowd of melon-eating spectators.
You, of all people, a walking natural disaster, have no right to say that!
—This was probably what everyone around was thinking, but due to her immense strength, no one had the guts to say it out loud.
And Loki just snorted. "I thought you were a pet too."
"A p-pet...?! What did you say?!"
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she almost couldn't suppress her anger and go berserk.
"You want to stand on that guy's side too?"
"I-I'm not taking his side! I don't care what happens to that pervert! It's just that as a noble, I have a duty to think about the public welfare."
"...Hmph."
He could also see that the tsundere Charlotte, while saying no, was actually just using an excuse to hide her true feelings. His gaze towards Kobayashi became even more dangerous.
While the surrounding crowd held their breath and watched the situation develop, he suddenly dispersed all of his aura, as if he had lost interest, and turned around. At the same time, the angel-type small Gundam behind him also relaxed its battle stance, lowered its longsword, and retracted the wing-like parts on its back.
He had been about to leave, but he stopped and glared at him. "I advise you not to interfere in the affairs between my sister and me again."
"I refuse. How can a master not take care of his pet?" he answered decisively.
Loki's fists clenched again.
Hardened, hardened, my fists have hardened!
But in the end, he didn't act. Instead, he looked at Frey, who was slumped in the center of the cage, and mocked, "No wonder you dared to defy me. So you've found a master. Hmph. Just like your automaton, be an obedient dog and wag your tail for him. And then, withdraw from the Night Party!"
An extremely cruel and sharp-tongued remark.
Perhaps in his eyes, even if it was with cold words, it was fine as long as it could make his sister withdraw from the Night Party. But he hadn't thought about how much damage those words would do to her.
"Loki..." Frey stared blankly at her brother's back.
He left.
Seeing that a fight had not broken out, the crowd of onlookers also dispersed. He went into the cage and extended a hand to the slumped Frey.
"Can you stand up?"
"...Mmm."
She trembled slightly, but still took his hand and used his strength to stand up.
On the other side, Charlotte was questioning the late-arriving Raishin. "You... you just watched them argue and didn't plan on doing anything?"
"...Eh? Why?" he blinked.
"You're asking why? Aren't you friends?"
"We're friends. But wasn't that just a brother-in-law and his little brother-in-law bickering to get closer? Although the atmosphere was so tense they were about to fight, generally speaking, they would never actually fight. I have a lot of experience with this, I guarantee it."
"Huh—?!!!"
Charlotte let out a cry of surprise.
A brother-in-law and his little brother-in-law...
Hearing this, the tsundere girl was completely dumbfounded. She stared blankly at him as he helped up Frey. Their intimate gesture made her feel very bad.
...Although she didn't know why.
Seeing that the girl known as "Tyrant Rex" was about to fly into a rage, he quickly held up a hand to stop her. "Wait, this is a misunderstanding! What Akabane-kun said is obviously fake! You have to believe me!"
"You're lying. You even called her your pet."
"That's...!"
Before he could finish, she had already hurried away. He watched her back and fell into silence.
Raishin came over and teased him deliberately. "Is it really okay not to go after her? She looks very sad. If you go after her now and say a few nice words, you'll greatly increase her affection for you."
"...You know a lot, don't you, Akabane-kun."
Without giving him a chance to say "I know a lot," he sighed. "I've suddenly discovered that I don't really need to explain."
"Mmm, and then?"
"You see, we're not friends, nor are we lovers."
"Mmm-hmm, go on."
"At the end of the day, she and I are still enemies. And I'm the worst at dealing with tsundere girls. Don't you think 'tsundere' is just another word for 'trouble'?"
"Mmm-hmm. So what are you planning to do?"
He nodded repeatedly, but his eyes said that no matter what he said, it was just a powerless excuse.
He let out a deep sigh.
"...Sorry. I'll be right back."
"Oh. You'd better comfort that angry Dinosaur-girl properly."
A smile curled up on Raishin's lips. When he turned to leave, he suddenly shouted, "Kobayashi! Your personality is really twisted sometimes!"
"Thank you for the compliment!"
"No, I wasn't complimenting you!"
He turned again. The retort from behind him could no longer be heard.
[Spectator]'s Farsight ability allowed him to quickly find Charlotte's figure. He quickened his pace and intercepted her.
"Hey!"
Leaning against a nearby tree, he smiled and waved at the tsundere girl.
She stopped in her tracks, turned her head away, and said angrily, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you with your pet (Frey)?"
Although she said that, from her side profile, he could see the smile on her lips, which showed that she was in a good mood.
"Because there's something I wanted to ask you."
"What?"
"Can you come with me to the History of Machinart Tactics Department? There's something I want to investigate."
"...You're a real idiot!"
The tsundere girl was furious.
The History of Machinart Tactics Department was the department Frey belonged to. And he was inviting her to go there to investigate. Wouldn't that just make her mood worse?
However, he also had his own ideas.
"Just a simple explanation and nice words... I could use dozens of sweet nothings to confuse you. But I'm inviting you to investigate with me because I want you to know the truth."
That's right.
He, who knew everything, was not doing this for himself, but to give her an explanation, to tell her why he was doing this.
"I advise you to give it up!... If you know the inside story, you will lose in battle."
She was truly sharp. She had immediately understood what he wanted to do. That was why she was stopping him.
Frey and Loki... there was clearly an inside story between the two of them. But if he went too deep, it would cause him to hesitate fatally in battle, and he would become a stumbling block.
But—
"If I were to defeat her without knowing the situation, wouldn't it be possible that I would regret it?"
"To be assuming you'll win... you really are at ease."
"Of course. After all, I'm the one who really defeated Felix and saved you. And before that, too. I'm very glad I saved you. So, can you come with me?"
Hearing him take credit, her cheeks gradually flushed.
It seemed there was no problem.
After that, the two arrived at an old school building with a very worn exterior. This was the History of Machinart Tactics Department where Frey studied.
The three of them and a dragon had just entered when screams erupted one after another. The students they met in the hall immediately became flustered. Someone even went weak in the knees and fell off their stool.
"Am I that scary?"
"After all, you are a walking natural disaster."
"What did you say?"
Under the indignant gaze of the Tyrant Rex girl, he began his investigation.
But none of it was useful information.
For example: that person's attitude is cold and she never smiles; she seems to study very late; her whereabouts are also strange and mysterious; and some were even only focused on her large chest.
All in all, it was all useless information.
She glared at him, annoyed. "What's the deal? You just wanted me to know this boring information?"
The previous information didn't matter, but the final piece about her chest definitely made her very unhappy.
Just as the rumors said.
Frey was not good at socializing with people. It could even be said that she avoided crowds. From the information they had gathered, she was just an introverted girl who studied hard on her own. And the reason she stood out was entirely because of her appearance. It was really pitiful.
In a certain sense, she was very similar to a certain someone.
That's right. She was very similar to Charlotte!
It was precisely because of this that he had deliberately brought her to investigate, hoping to arouse some empathy.
But it seemed she had misunderstood. Sensing his gaze, the girl became flustered and said in a panic, "Wh-what are you looking at, you pervert!"
"Hmm???"
He had a black-man-question-mark-face.
She then called out softly, "I say... you... as I thought... that is... you prefer them big?"
"Yes! I like them big!"
His answer was incomparably decisive.
His preference had always been the well-endowed, older-sister type. That had never changed.
"But! If it's you, Charlotte, that's another matter."
"...Eh?"
"Did I not make myself clear? I'm saying... if it's you, Charlotte, even if it's small, it's still cute. I like it."
"You...!"
For a moment, she didn't know if she should be happy or angry.
(End of Chapter)