[V3C5] Brother!! It’s Me!
Translated by Jodas 3: The Fateful BrothersThe Second Spire: Golden Needle was a three-level tower, and there was an indoor training ground on the first level.
When Tia and co. took a peek inside, they saw members of the Protection and Extermination Offices having training battles.
After climbing a staircase on the side of that training ground, they reached the second floor, with all sorts of strategy rooms, break rooms, and such for the Protection and Extermination Offices.
In the Protection Office’s break room, the man who had helped them yesterday, Otto, was sitting and drinking a cup of tea. When Tia and the others gave him words of thanks, he responded “I appreciate your politeness.”
The Protection Office had members of all ages, and while there were some even older than Otto, there were also young women among the mages. All of them were very kind to Apprentices like Tia, and when they thanked Otto, they received compliments like “You’ve got such good manners,” “You’re such good students,” or “You’ve got a great teacher.”
Sevil used this opportunity to negotiate with Otto and the other mages of the Protection Office for permission to come and tag along with their sword practice every once in a while.
“We came here to thank them, so asking them to let you join their practice is a bit presumptuous……” Wren grumbled, but even though Otto had a conflicted expression, he approved, saying “It’s fine if you come every once in a while.” How nice of him.
The other mages let them know that “As long as you submit an application, even Apprentices can use the indoor training grounds.” and told them to “Come back anytime!”
It seemed it was true when Hütter had said that everyone aside from the General Affairs and Finance Offices was nice to Apprentices.
(If we hadn’t come here to thank them, we never would have known that we could use the training grounds, and Sevil wouldn’t have been able to ask to join their practice.)
By going to give thanks and interacting with other people, the amount of things they could do at the Wedge Tower increased. More choices opened up for them.
Mr. Hütter really is amazing! Tia thought.
After leaving the Protection Office on the second level, the three of them headed for the Investigation Office on the third level.
The walls of the Investigation Office were lined with rows of bookshelves. It looked like most of the bookshelves were full of documents pertaining to different kinds of Monsters. There were also many desks for writing on.
The room was kept neat and tidy, and the sofa that Tia was told to sit on was soft and fluffy.
It wasn’t a terribly luxurious or ostentatious place, but everything was well-cared for and neatly arranged.
“Welcome, all of you. I am Diehl, the Director of the Investigation Office.”
Sitting on the sofa across from Tia and the others, Diehl was a man whose presence matched the feeling of this room. In short, he was proper and organized.
He was over fifty years of age, and of moderate weight and stature. His grey hair with white streaks was combed neatly, and he wore a well-fitted three-piece suit. His getup made him look nothing like a mage.
As Tia evaluated Diehl’s appearance, a middle-aged man brought over a freshly-brewed pot of tea.
“Hey, thanks for yesterday.”
Saying that as he lined up teacups was one of the Investigation Office men who was with them yesterday.
Tia greeted him cheerfully.
“Hello! Ah…..even though we were the ones who came to thank you, you’re giving us tea……Sevil, what do we do in times like this?”
“Thankfully, and deliciously take it, of course!”
I see. That made sense to Tia, so she picked up a teacup.
“Okay! Thanks for the tea!”
“You idiot! You’re supposed to thank them for yesterday first!”
Wren warned her in a whisper, while glancing at Sevil.
Sevil, the oldest of the three, spoke as their representative.
“We are much indebted to you over yesterday’s events. I offer my deepest gratitude to all members of the Investigation Office.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Thank, you, verymuch!”
After Sevil, bowed, Wren did as well, so Tia decided to copy them.
Watching their exchange, Director Diehl seemed to be impressed as he spoke.
“Mr. Hütter’s students are very polite, aren’t they?”
Diehl took a sip of his tea, and smiled kindly.
“I assume all of you were quite troubled after witnessing such terrifying things yesterday. Yet rather than run away from such a terrible experience, you have gone out of your way to thank my subordinates. I am delighted by your courage and thoughtfulness.”
She was complimented. That made her happy.
She almost unconsciously let out a ‘piyopp,’ but she held it in for now. The Investigation Office was full of people who studied the traces of Monsters. Any Monster-like actions were strictly forbidden.
To keep her chirping under wraps, Tia started nibbling on a cookie she’d been handed.
“It must have been very distressing to encounter a Monster like that. And to think it was a Greater type on top of that……you were fortunate that you were able to defeat it with a magical device. Do you still have said device in your possession?”
Sevil shook her head to Diehl’s question.
“It exploded, after all. We did not have the luxury of returning to collect the pieces.”
“Is that so…..That is unfortunate.”
“Indeed, I quite liked it, so I do find it regretful, but it was a small price to pay for my life.”
While Diehl and Sevil were engaged in that conversation, Wren made a slightly strained expression. It looked like he was cautious of something.
Diehl took another sip of tea, then spoke.
“Actually, we noticed something strange about the corpse of the Monster you encountered.”
Tia had to stop herself from letting out a ‘piyo’ in surprise.
Wren had a somewhat hardened face, but he didn’t seem shaken.
As perhaps she should have expected from Sevil, she responded to Diehl with her usual Sevil attitude.
“And what was this ‘something strange’?”
“The monster you encountered—the Snow Boar—had died from the impact of rubble released by the explosion in the cave……or that was the theory, at least. But when we inspected the remains, we noticed its mana organs had burst.”
“Mana organs…….You mean the organs through which mana flows around its body.”
“Correct. In particular, it refers to both the mana chamber where its mana reserves are stored, and the mana vessels which send those reserves throughout the body. Both of these had ruptured from the inside. We suspect this was caused by the mana inside its body going berserk. In that case, what could have caused its mana to go berserk in such a manner?”
Pirorororo…….. Tia almost vocalized.
At that time, Wren had put his quick wit to work and concealed the Snow Boar’s cause of death, but it only took one night for the Investigation Office to see through that lie.
Diehl continued, quietly.
“We suspect that there may have been one more Monster of a different type on the scene. It is not unusual for Monsters to fight each other over territory or prey.”
This was the true strength of the Investigation Office.
A chill ran down Tia’s spine.
There was one other Monster on the scene—none other than Tia herself. A Harpy from Breakneck Gorge, Folulutia.
(What should I say in times like these?)
As Tia panicked, Sevil placed a plate of cookies in front of Tia.
“Tia. You can eat mine as well. I’m on a bit of a diet at the moment.”
“You did get your butt stuck in the cave after all………….Ow!”
Sevil kicked Wren’s shin after he said a little too much.
She thought that this exchange was an attempt to lighten the room’s atmosphere a little bit. After all, in the midst of their chatter, Wren and Sevil cast concerned glances at Tia.
Their eyes said ‘Leave it to us!’
Wren was the first to speak.
“There was another monster on the scene? Does that mean a different one from the Greater we took down?”
“Yes, we believe the possibility of that is high.”
Next, Sevil acted like she was deep in thought as she spoke.
“Is there no possibility that the Greater Monster that called itself Jack could have killed the Snow Boar with a stray attack? Would a cruel Greater type like that not have such violent whims?”
“The possibility of that is not zero. However, the Monster known as Jack was primarily a Monster that manipulated cold air…….I do not believe it was a Monster capable of causing mana to go berserk.”
“Is that so? Then, perhaps there might have been another monster. Without our knowledge.”
Tia was shocked how quick Sevil was to accept his appraisal. It was good that her mouth was covered by a cookie.
Next to Tia as she stuffed her cheeks full of cookies, Wren hid his worries and projected the face of a strong pretty boy.
“Then, we would have been in real trouble if we ran into that monster…….Good thing we hid in that cave.”
“Indeed, and afterwards we were lucky to link up with Mr. Hütter and the Investigation Office as quickly as we did.”
(Piyo! ……Ah, that’s right. Even if they figured out that there was another monster, all we have to do is say we didn’t know~ and we’ll push through just fine!)
Wren and Sevil were great. They were smart.
Investigation Office Director Diehl didn’t pry any deeper than that.
“Is that so? Then, if you ever recall anything about that time, please let us know.”
Speaking with a smile, Tia felt like Diehl’s attention landed on her for a second, and Tia almost choked on her cookie.
“Pefuu.” After leaving the Investigation Office, Tia let out a sigh of relief.
“That was scary…… Even though he didn’t seem that strong, he was scary…….Piroro……”
“I’ve heard that Director has been in the Investigation Office ever since he joined the Wedge Tower……”
“I see, he’s experienced. That could make him quite formidable.”
Tia and Wren unconsciously hunched over. For some reason, those few minutes were extremely draining.
Only Sevil kept her straight and noble posture, as she always did.
Even if she had no reason to act superior, simply by doing so, it seemed like Sevil could tackle problems head on and they would strangely solve themselves.
The three of them left the Investigation Office, walked down the steps, then headed towards the door. She missed the outside air right about now.
“……Piyo?”
Suddenly, just as they came down to the second level, Tia caught sight of a familiar spiky head.
There was a tall man with light brown hair slicked up into spikes, wielding a spear—the self-proclaimed ‘Red Rain’—Oliver Lange.
Wren made a surprised face.
“Oliver? What are you doing here? Watching the training?”
“I came here to say hi to my brother.”
“Piyoyo?” Chirping, Tia’s eyes widened.
“Oiver, you have a brother at the Wedge Tower?”
“Yes, the reason I set my heart on the Wedge Tower was because I wanted to support my brother who is fighting on the front lines with the Extermination Office.”
Speaking as if tasting the results of his many long months and years of effort to make it this far, Oliver tightened his grip on his spear.
(I see, the reason Oliver took the exam four times was because he wanted to support his brother……)
While some time has passed since Oliver enrolled, it sounded like his brother was busy with his duties at the Extermination Office, so they hadn’t really had a chance to meet yet.
When Oliver heard that his brother would be in the break room, even though it was time for afternoon individual classes, he came under the pretense of watching the Extermination Office’s training.
(Oliver is pretty close to his brother, huh.)
Tia thought back to her sister and the others at the Breakneck Gorge, and made a delighted “Pefu!”
Interested, Sevil glanced at the Extermination Office’s door.
“The Extermination Office, huh? I have yet to properly witness it. Would you mind if I accompanied you?”
“Me too. Rather than the Extermination Office, I want to see who Oliver’s brother is.”
“Piyo! Me too, me too!”
After Sevil and Wren gave their reasons, Tia stuck her hand up.
Rather than interest in Oliver’s brother himself, she just wanted to see the reunion of a close pair of brothers and witness the happy emotions.
Oliver had worked hard for years so he could be reunited with his brother. Just like Tia wanted to see her sister and the others.
Tia projected herself onto Oliver a little bit.
“I don’t mind. Let’s go.”
Oliver took the lead and knocked on the door of the Extermination Office’s break room.
The door was opened by a young man with dark brown hair, small irises, and tanned skin—Rikard Oks, who just recently had walked off, carrying Frederik on his back.
Tia whispered to Wren.
“It’s the guy from before.”
“He did say he was from the Extermination Office.”
Oliver told Rikard that he was here to see his brother, to which he was told “hold on for just a second,” as Rikard headed back inside.
A few minutes of waiting later, the door opened. Oliver confidently raised his voice.
“Brother!! It’s me!”
In place of a response, something came flying out. A spear.
The tip of the spear grazed Oliver’s spiky hair and embedded itself in the hallway wall.
Clang! The walls of the hallway shook with a terrible sound.
“Pyoeeeehhhhh!?”
“Gyah!?”
Tia and Wren screamed and ran from the unprompted attack. Even Sevil’s eyes widened. Only Oliver kept his typical confident expression.
A tense chill ran through the air, and a growling voice resonated from behind the door.
“…………..Go home.”
A young man, standing like he had just thrown a spear, had veins bulging on his forehead.
It was the smiley man who had just been sleeping outside—Frederik.