Chapter 156: Everyone Has a Bright Future
After dealing with Bronson and saving the orphanage that was about to be disposed of, he acted as if nothing had happened and quietly returned to the academy to be a good boy.
Just as he thought he had been very discreet, two people who shouldn't have been there appeared.
Professor Kimberly said with merciless sarcasm, "Isn't this the 'Goddess's Vicar' (Aqua Pontifex), who has been in the limelight at the academy recently, and the 'Self-Flying Flame Sword' (Sacred Blaze), one of the top thirteen?
What are you two doing here? With your arms around each other's shoulders... since when did you two become so close? Or did you go out for a fight and develop some kind of indescribable, special feelings?"
The very angry teacher, and the single pearl-colored ponytail that couldn't be hidden behind her... he knew he couldn't bluff his way out of this one.
"Who's close with him!"
Loki pushed him away with disgust, but with his serious injuries, he couldn't move him at all. His weak appearance, on the contrary, looked a bit like he was pouting.
Kimberly adjusted her glasses and said, "Don't tell me you two..."
"No! It's absolutely not what you think!" he quickly denied, and at the same time, roared at Loki, "You idiot! Can't you just go along with it and say we're close! That way, our suspicions would be cleared!"
"How is that possible in this situation!" Loki pointed at the surroundings, as if to say there was no use in trying to argue.
"Just say it was a yakuza gang fight!"
"Then why would we be here?"
"We were admiring the moon and didn't notice where we were walking."
"Then why are our clothes so tattered?"
"We accidentally fell off a wall."
"You bastard... as I thought, I can't hand my sister over to a slick-tongued person like you!"
His excuses were all over the place. With Frey's extremely simple personality, she would surely be deceived and spun in circles, and even in the end, would still firmly believe in him.
As her brother, he would never allow his sister to have contact with such a man!
"N-no... Loki... no... fighting," Frey said, seeing the two of them butting heads. She wanted to go up and persuade them, but their powerful auras made her not dare to approach.
In the end, it was Kimberly who stepped in.
"Alright, that's enough, you two. Seeing as you're so full of energy, it seems you don't need any medical treatment."
"I'm fine, but he..."
He glanced at Loki with disgust, expressing his doubts about his title as one of the top thirteen.
Loki clenched his fists, extremely annoyed. He looked up at Frey and said, "Listen to me! This guy actually has a move that can... mmph! mmmph mmmph! mmmph mmmph!"
Before he could finish, his mouth was covered. He wasn't giving him a chance to tattle. He quickly changed the subject.
"Um... Professor, Frey, what are you two doing here?"
"A-actually..."
Then, Frey explained in a small voice.
Two hours ago.
Frey, who was still in the infirmary, tiptoed out of the ward. In front of her were four hospital beds separated by cloth curtains, but there was no sign of any patient on them.
"If you're looking for that idiot, he's not here."
"——!"
Suddenly hearing a voice from behind her, Frey was startled.
She quickly turned her head.
She saw a beautiful girl sitting in the corner of the ward, and on her head was a small dragon.
"Ngh... Tyrant Rex."
"Hmph."
Charlotte first let out her customary cold snort, then paused, her cheeks flushing slightly, and asked in a small voice, "Your dog... um... how is it?"
"Ngh..."
Frey lowered her head, tightly clutching the hem of her skirt.
The unease she had just managed to suppress was awakened again, and she could no longer hold back the tears that overflowed, saying timidly, "If Rabi dies... I'll... be all alone..."
"You're not alone. You never were from the beginning."
An unexpected sentence made her raise her head.
Charlotte, on the other hand, pouted and continued with some displeasure, "Don't you have someone important who puts you first and thinks of you?"
For some reason, Frey heard a trace of grievance in her voice, and even a hint of sourness. But she didn't understand the other's meaning.
Charlotte sighed. "It seems those who have it don't understand. But more importantly, we're still talking about that idiot."
"Where... did he... go?"
"Who knows? He should be in some orphanage somewhere, acting like a thief."
"O-orphanage?"
Frey took a long time to finally understand this sentence, and her emotions fluctuated slightly. "Wh-why?"
"Yeah, why indeed? I'd also like to know," she said, shaking her head in frustration, which scared Frey into taking a step back.
She paused and then added, "But, that's just the kind of person he is. He can't just ignore a weak person who is crying and asking for help. He's a soft-hearted guy."
Although she was belittling that person, her eyes showed a gentle light.
"He didn't have to go through so much trouble and put himself in a dangerous situation. And he even took an automaton and ran outside the academy. There should be a limit to how much he risks his life! If he's found out by the guards or a professor, it's all over—"
"Unfortunately, I already know."
A sudden voice, and this sentence, scared both of them out of their wits.
Kimberly was standing at the entrance of the ward. She was not in her usual white coat, but was draped in a luxurious, gold-trimmed, black cloak she had never seen before, which enveloped her in a mysterious aura, like a witch.
"Professor! Your outfit?"
"My outfit? Of course it's because I'm going out. The academy's professors have a supervisory responsibility, so I have to go and fix those two idiots."
She's talking about Kobayashi!
Charlotte and Frey exchanged a look.
Kimberly closed her eyes slightly. "Oh my, you two seem to be very interested. If you can abide by a few agreements, I can take you with me. How about it, Charlotte? You seem to care a lot about that man. You have a good relationship with him, right?"
"Wh-wh-wh-why would I... have... have a good... relationship with that idiot!"
"Then... you're not going?"
"...I'm not going."
After a brief hesitation, Charlotte shook her head and answered firmly, "I'm not going. Because... I trust him."
"Unfounded trust. You two really are in love," she teased.
The tsundere girl immediately bristled and strongly denied, "Th-th-th-that's not it! I wasn't talking about that idiot! I was talking about trusting the effect of the defense sigil!"
Seeing her refuse, Kimberly asked Frey again.
"Frey, what are you going to do?"
"I..."
Frey looked towards the ward next door, in the direction of the infirmary. Rabi had not yet regained consciousness, and it was possible his condition could suddenly worsen.
But, even so! She still had a duty to witness with her own eyes the great deed he was about to perform.
Thinking of this, the weak girl resolutely raised her head and said:
"—I'm going!"
"...So, you came to the orphanage with Professor Kimberly?" Kobayashi's expression was a little strange.
Frey thought he was angry. She lowered her head, not daring to look at him, and couldn't say a word for a long time.
But it was true. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been here.
Loki was also angry.
Angry at Frey.
"You... if you're so scared, then don't come here! You're not only in the way, but I also have to be distracted taking care of you... Hey, don't cry, don't cry!"
His usual sharp-tongued, foul-mouthed, and bad-mannered image instantly collapsed when he saw the tears streaming down his sister's cheeks.
He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how.
He no longer needed to pretend in front of his father, but the normal way of getting along between siblings just couldn't come back.
Frey couldn't stop crying. She wiped her tears and sobbed in a low voice, "But Loki... Loki... you were hurt... I... it's all because of... me..."
"Hey, don't cry so hard," he sighed.
Seeing this, Kobayashi chose to give the siblings a hand. He deliberately teased, "Ah, ah, Loki, you actually made your own sister cry. You incompetent brother. And you still dare to call me a scumbag? You should just kill yourself to atone for your sins. If it were me, I would have put my hand on her head long ago and comforted her softly."
"You..."
Loki looked at him with a mixture of anger and gratitude, then slowly raised his hand and paused in mid-air.
Sigh—
As if with a sigh, his hand gently rested on her head. The tall, strong younger brother finally stopped being a sharp-tongued tsundere and softly comforted his short, cowardly older sister.
"...Stop crying. I'm alive and well, aren't I?"
"B-but..."
"It's fine. It's already fine."
"Mmm."
The siblings' faces broke into smiles.
In this scene of strong family affection, Kobayashi just felt that he was an eyesore.
He turned his head to look at Kimberly, who was dressed very differently from usual. No, to be precise, he was looking at the cloak she was wearing.
It shouldn't be an ordinary cloak. He could feel a faint mana from it. It should be enchanted with some special magic, like concealment, silence, or aura suppression. And it must be especially exquisite and powerful, otherwise, with his vision, [Spectator] couldn't possibly have failed to discover her existence.
I've underestimated the magic of this world too much.
Kimberly noticed his gaze and asked, puzzled, "What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No, I was just thinking what position you are appearing here in, Professor Kimberly. Are you representing the academy, or the [Grey Cross (Crusades)]? Or is it..." he lowered his voice. Loki and Frey both looked at her nervously, afraid that she would say she was going to punish them.
Kimberly looked at him with interest. "You even know about the [Grey Cross]? It seems you have your secrets too."
"You flatter me. The watchdogs of the Magic Association... I am aware of such a great reputation."
—This was a lie.
In fact, he had just seen it with his [Mind Read] ability and was deliberately saying it to create a sense of mystery and awe.
But she shook her head.
"Neither. I came at the request of someone who was played for a fool by a student, flew into a rage and gave a big lecture, and as a result, even though she cares a lot about that student, she doesn't know how to intervene, so she had no choice but to come to me for help."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying."
What she said was too complicated, and he was getting confused. In the end, he just used [Spectator] to simply and crudely find out who she was talking about from her heart.
—Shouko Karyuusai.
It was she who had asked Kimberly for help, and had also secretly sent the intelligence about the orphanage to the Magic Association. She clearly had her own backing, but why she had done this, he had no idea.
As they spoke, numerous puppeteers in black overcoats appeared silently around them. No one spoke; they just silently cleaned up the mess.
He wisely played dumb, as if he couldn't see them at all.
Loki also, likewise, remained silent about the black-robed men who had suddenly appeared in his home.
After the central courtyard was clean again, they spoke again.
Kimberly said, "Let's go, Loki. You're still seriously injured. If you don't get treatment, you'll really die."
"No, no, no. Actually, I've already used magic on him and healed all his injuries," he said, giving a thumbs up, taking credit while also deliberately angering him. "What a pity, Loki. You won't be able to enjoy the meticulous care of a white-robed angel."
"It's true! My injuries are all healed! If you have this ability, why didn't you use it earlier! Also, that last sentence was unnecessary!" Loki glared at him, annoyed.
His injuries were healed, and he no longer needed support. He thought he was all good again. Just like Sasuke Uchiha.
A person like that never learns, no matter how many times you beat them. He was already used to it.
But he still teased him deliberately. "Really? You don't need a white-robed angel's care? Of course, you look down on an ordinary one, but if it's Frey... if it's her, then what?"
"S-sister..."
Loki paused for a moment.
In that instant, a picture flashed in his mind.
Frey, in a nurse's uniform, gently wiping the sweat from his brow. After so many years, he had finally experienced his sister's care... or something.
"But what a pity!"
"What?"
"Your injuries are already healed. You no longer need her care."
"...Eh?"
Crack!
The fantasy shattered. The white-robed angel Frey in his mind disappeared, and his whole being was not well.
"Y-you bastard...!"
"Are you angry?"
"I am both humble and tolerant... but, there are still three types of people I cannot forgive: those who order me around, those who defy me, and... those who deliberately tease me at a time like this!"
"So what if I tease you!"
The atmosphere between the two was full of gunpowder. Loki clenched his fists as if he were about to attack, but was stopped by Frey.
"Loki, fighting, is bad! Kobayashi... Kobayashi... is family! Must have... ten children!"
"...Eh?" x2
He and Loki were dumbfounded.
Frey looked left and right, and finally realized she had misspoken. A fire erupted on her face, and her eyes spun in circles. She was at a loss.
Then she raised both hands and, as if summoning a demon, Yomi rushed over. She jumped on its back and fled back to her room as if in flight.
He and Loki looked at each other.
"Hey, you bastard! Don't tell me you're really going to make my sister give you ten children!"
"Do you think she's a pig?"
"What? You dare to call my sister a pig?!"
"No! I'm saying it's impossible for her to have ten children!"
"Are you saying my sister can't do it? I'll kill you!"
"...What is wrong with you!"
With the "father" and founder of D-Works, Bronson, dead, the heavy burden on Frey and Loki was finally lifted, and the misunderstanding between the siblings was also resolved. He also gained a lot (he didn't get any benefits at all).
Everyone has a bright future.
(End of Chapter)