CH 272.1

“……………… Leader…… What are you going to do today?” (Lucia)

“Hmm? Right now………… I am gathering my strength.” (Cry)

“!? You were doing the same thing yesterday too, didn’t you!” (Lucia)

“Here, here……” (Cry)

I avoid her pouting glance in the usual way. Today, too, the Imperial Capital is peaceful.

Lucia is a serious girl. She used to smile a little more when she was a child, but her personality itself has not changed since then.

She is very organized and punctual in meetings. Unlike Luke and the others, she doesn’t like to break rules, and she studies hard every day. And one day off a week is enough for her.

Maybe it is I who has changed. The reason why she is always so grumpy is partly because she is in her rebellious phase, but it may also be because I am too much of a disappointment for her. Rather, I am glad that Lucia hasn’t abandoned me yet. If I were in Lucia’s shoes, I am not confident that I would not abandon a brother who does nothing.

“I am sure all my earnestness and talent was sucked out of me by Lucia.” (Cry)

“!? We are not even blood-related!” (Lucia)

Lucia’s gaze got colder at the words I utter while I held back my yawn and sat in the Clan Master’s office.

No, because, look………… It is inevitable that you become lazy when you have a reliable Imouto with you.  It balanced out.

And when you have a great Magi in your family, other Magi can’t discern the two of us, so Lucia is partly responsible for the fact that I often get yelled at by Magi like Kruz and 《Abyssal Fire of Destruction (Shin En Kametsu)》.

I checked the newspaper that was brought to me. Maybe thanks to my request to Franz-san, the newspaper didn’t have anything written about the attack in the Abandoned Metropolitan Area which had been on the front page yesterday.

I see…… Apparently, pressure from the noble is more effective than the connections Eva has spent years painstakingly building.

I quickly check that there are no other articles of interest and put the newspaper down. Yup, it’s peaceful today.

“But isn’t it unusual for Lucia to be my escort two days in a row?” (Cry)

“………… The other members couldn’t make it. We are all busy. We will change tomorrow.” (Lucia)

Says Lucia with a pouting expression.

Well, I am all for it. With Lucia, I can use all the Relics I want, and it is good for us to make time as siblings since we haven’t had much opportunity to do so lately.

Just before we became Hunters, our parents told me to protect Lucia even if I had to put myself in harm’s way.

Hmph, I don’t mean to brag, but I am second to none when it comes to getting attacked before anyone else. Anthem has incredible reflexes and agility for his size, but (in a way) I am the one who trained him.

Lucia’s mood was not so good despite the fact that we, siblings, were together. Then I thought of a good idea and *pon* hit my hands.

“Well then, since Lucia is with me today, let’s make a new grimoire for the first time in a long time……” (Cry)

“B-Beside, since we don’t know what the attackers will do, I am the best choice! And also Kaa-san1 has asked me to keep a close eye on Nii-san too.” (Lucia)

“Let’s see, where was my pen and notebook…………” (Cry)

“O-Oh right! My “Teacher (Sensei)” asked me to bring Nii-san once! Will you come with me soon?  My “Teacher (Sensei)” seems to be in a pretty bad mood since we canceled the exam at the last minute during the previous Supreme Martial Arts Festival――” (Lucia)

“…… Flash of inspiration! …… A Magic to turn your “Teacher (Sensei)” into a frog?” (Cry)

“!? Stop! Hey!” (Lucia)

Lucia’s face turned bright red and she leaned forward and tried to steal the pen. I lightly moved my arm to avoid her.

As a Magi, Lucia is not as physically strong as Liz or Luke, but her physical abilities are far superior to mine. Our talents, amount of training and Mana Material absorbed are incomparable.

However, unlike Liz and Sytry, Lucia is at that age where she tries to not touch me as much as possible, so it is not difficult for me to avoid her. She can’t move faster than the blink of an eye like Liz.

“I will turn you into a frog…… I will so turn you into a frog. To say you want to see me, your “Teacher (Sensei)” really can’t judge character.” (Cry)

“Don’t say things you don’t even know―――!” (Lucia)

Lucia’s “Teacher (Sensei)” is mild-mannered unlike Luke’s and Liz’s mentors, but because of that, he/she is scary when he/she gets angry. It is not that he/she has a scary face or that he/she is violent, it is just that the alone pressure is enough to crush me, which is a rare type of fear that people can cause me among the people I know.

The only way I can think of to get around it――Is to get into comfortable mode.

But it is my last resort. Lucia is also indebted to him/her, and I want to settle things as peacefully as possible. Missing the exam also resulted in the prevention of the Key to the Earth, so you don’t have to be so angry………… Lucia also contributed greatly to stopping the damage from spreading, you know――.

“!! That’s it!” (Cry)

“Hey, don’t dodge me! Moh! Wh-What did you just come up with! Hey! Nii-san!? Hey!” (Lucia)

That’s it…… Why don’t I ask Franz-san to mediate for me? Even the greatest Magi of the Empire will have nothing to say if I have the backing of a nobleman.

It is not like Franz-san’s favorability will drop any lower, so today I am――Brilliant.

Lucia came around, so I quickly turned away and moved the pen away.

In the first place, there is no point in taking away the pen, and if she really wanted to take it away, she could have used Magic, but I won’t dig too deeply into it. Right, right, we used to play like this in the past.

As I was thinking about this, I suddenly came eye to eye with a 『Pigeon’s Chain』 that flew just outside my window (Although a Pigeon’s Chain doesn’t have eyes).

It is a letter from Martis-san. It looks like playtime with Lucia is over.

“Here, hold this for me.” (Cry)

“!? Ah…… Okay.” (Lucia)

I put the pen in Lucia’s outstretched hand and opened the window. I just got a letter yesterday saying he can’t do a house-call appraisal, but what is this?

I checked the letter with a serious expression in front of Lucia, who looked at the pen with a blank expression. I checked, checked, checked a third time, checked again just to be sure, thought for a moment, and nodded broadly.

“………… Alright, Lucia, get ready to go out. We are going to the 《Sword Saint’s (Kensei)》 place.  Right now!” (Cry)

“Eh? Huh? I thought you wouldn’t go outside!? What is that letter!” (Lucia)

“………… I was going to do that too, but things have changed. It is probably going to be fine, but――Better be prepared.” (Cry)

“………… Understood, Leader.” (Lucia)

The letter from Martis-san was a warning.

To sum it up in a nutshell――It seems that the sword I gave as a gift was a dangerous Relic, and a large number of pupils under the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》 were injured because of it.

I had originally asked Martis-san to appraise the sword. I guess he received a request from the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》 to have the Relic appraised in order to investigate what happened, and the fact that it was a sword-type Relic was enough to make him connect the dots and send the letter to me.

Without the letter, I would not have noticed. The 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》 is not only a master of the sword but also a man who values courtesy. If my gift had caused him to suffer, I needed to apologize as soon as possible. What a good friend he has.

There was no article about it in the newspaper, so it didn’t seem to be a big deal, but this is not the time to say I don’t want to go outside. I am going to get cut. Thawne Rowell, the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》, is a man of relatively good character, but there are many people under him who are rough and aggressive, regardless of their opponent. 《Abyssal Fire of Destruction (Shin En Kametsu)》 is an Ikkitousen2 warrior, but there are probably more than a thousand pupils under the 《Sword Saint’s (Kensei)》 school. If I offend him, I will not be able to survive in the Imperial Capital.

“It is dangerous and we are in a hurry, so let’s fly. It will be either the 『Flying Carpet』 or Lucia’s broom――” (Cry)

I still haven’t perfected the control on the 『Flying Carpet』 yet. However, Lucia’s broom is not a Relic, so I have to be carried on her back, but the timid Lucia wouldn’t let me.

After a moment of hesitation, Lucia said in a small voice to me who was asking.

“Un-Understood. I will let you ride, behind me. That carpet is not good. It is just this one time.” (Lucia)

“Thank you. I will be ready in a minute. I will go get changed, so Lucia, get your broom ready――” (Cry)

The man who will be in front of me will be Luke’s “Master (Shisho)”, I don’t think there will be a problem, but you never know what might happen. I should prepare my Relics――I know, I should contact Franz-san and ask him to mediate for me.

It had been a long time since I had been on a battlefield, so I felt nauseous. However, the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》 loves a warrior attitude, so if I go with a resolute attitude, I should be able to handle it.

I took a deep breath and ran down the stairs to my private room with the Symphonic Stone in my hand that connects to Franz-san.