"I came out because I was so frustrated just watching. I know things can't be reversed, but I hope this will at least ease my dad's mind."
The girl pointed at Ryan.
“If you were human, you must have felt something. At least apologize to your little brother.”
“...”
"He's the one who went to jail in your place, was treated like a criminal, and still tried to live hard. Don't expect forgiveness. Just apologize, you son of a bitch."
“...”
Elliot, who had been silent, sat up and stroked his cold nose.
Slowly, look around.
Countless eyes were already watching the commotion. Everyone who saw the girl who suddenly appeared must have seen it too.
'How do we fix this?'
That thought came to him first...
'No, I'll figure it out somehow.'
What's important now is that a new person with superpowers has appeared.
Even in the absence of Marina, the eighth sibling, she appears to be a stealth type of power user who could fill the void.
Where there's something to lose, there's also something to gain. The losses due to Ratan must have been significant, but at least they found a new power user.
“Phew.”
Elliot looked ahead with a sigh.
Ryan stands silently.
His younger sister, who has supernatural powers, holds his hand and glares at him with a grin.
“If he's incompetent, does that mean he’s not your younger brother?”
“You're not just a man, you're an older brother. How could you tell your younger brother to die...?”
“He's the one who goes to jail in your place, is treated like a criminal, and still tries to live hard.”
As Elliot chewed on those words, he looked at his younger brother, Ryan.
“Ryan...”
...pathetic guy.
He's suddenly so annoyed.
“If the child had developed a special ability, you should have returned her home.”
“...”
“...”
Silence fell.
Ryan, who had been blinking, soon chuckled and muttered.
“...I didn’t even expect it.”
The Eye of the Mirror - Poetry of Retrograde
Ryan was just trying to play the mindless, dumb younger brother to Elliot.
Elliot, who was mentally exhausted, vented his anger with harsh words, and he had no idea that Vania would get angry and storm out after hearing that.
Puck!
“Ah!”
Elliot, whose face was hit by Vania's knee, fell backwards.
'Huh? What? Why did you bring it here?'
Ryan blinked in surprise.
The timing of the regression is strange.
We need to wrap up the story before Vania reveals her true identity, before she emerges from the shadows...
“Young Master!”
The private leader drew his sword.
“Uh, uh... Yes! Stop it!”
Ryan frantically tries to stop Vania, worried that she might get a scratch on her precious younger sister's body.
Ryan felt a little bitter at seeing the sight of her winding back time.
"Sorry."
Vania turned to Ryan and apologized.
“I did something wrong.”
“...”
Ryan chuckled.
It was a bit embarrassing, but honestly, it was refreshing when she suddenly popped out and grabbed Elliot by the hair.
Perhaps what Vania wanted was an apology from Elliot, but she hadn't expected it in the first place.
"It's okay."
Ryan waved his hand and said.
“Should I roll it forward further?”
“Yeah, just a moment.”
Vania walked slowly toward Elliot. Ryan flinched for a moment as he watched her.
'No way?'
Elliot froze in embarrassment. He was sprawled on his back, his buttocks tumbled forward. His legs were spread wide like a frog's.
The center is exposed and defenseless.
It seems that Vania remembered Elliot's posture at that time and deliberately rewinded time to this point.
“Wait! That, that kind of thing...!”
Putting Elliot aside, Ryan, who thought it was too much for a man, was about to try to stop Vania from committing the evil deed.
'It's late...'
Vania quickly ran over to Elliot and stomped on his shins, hoping he would come to his senses and get back on track.
“Ewwh ..."
Ryan turned his head sharply.
It was a sight so cruel that he could not bear to watch it.
“Why are you like that, girl?!”
[Why~ It was so refreshing~]
“What do you mean, refreshing! Right now, everything inside me feels like it’s hurting!”
[Is that all? I don't have it, so I don't know. If that's the case, then it's a bit disappointing. I was just trying to cheer you up, Dad.]
Inside the barracks.
Outside, the demons' blood is spewing out, but Ryan is lying leisurely with his arms at the back of his head and his legs crossed.
A battlefield where you can suffocate the demons who refuse to resist. Subjugation is as easy as eating bread while lying down.
This is because there was no need for all soldiers to come out, so a three-shift suppression method was chosen to maintain physical strength.
Ryan is waiting for his turn after the second lull.
'Ratan tastes sweet.'
It may seem vulgar to think this way, as I had gritted my teeth and tried to stop the Prince, but I couldn't deny that things had become easier.
It's refreshing to think of Elliot, who was on the verge of tears at how bewildered he felt by Ratan's appearance.
Of course, it was annoying that that son of a bitch took it out on Ryan for no reason.
“Don’t be like a rhinoceros and keep hitting me like crazy just because you think you can go back.”
[...? It’s funny to hear that from Dad. Don’t hit me, Dad.]
"No, this one doesn't mean anything. You should only use it when you have something to gain from returning."
"Crazy..."
[Honestly, if we don't even try this secret retribution, how will we survive the next few years? Those bad guys will just ignore us and say something unlucky every time we meet.]
'Yeah, but it was for nothing.'
I swallowed a sigh.
Honestly, I was so angry that I ran away half impulsively, but I still planned to get an apology from Elliot.
Ryan wasn't the type of person who would let Elliot live just because he was willing to sacrifice his life for an apology...
I just hope that his hurt feelings will at least be alleviated.
But it ended up just revealing Elliot's annoying inner feelings once again, as he didn't even think of Ryan as a brother and didn't feel sorry for him.
“Hey, be honest. Were you close with the second child?”
...Suddenly?
Ryan's question made me flinch.
When did I ever tell you about my relationship with Elliot?
"I've been listening to you talk about your brothers all this time. They're all trash, but you always criticize Elliot the most. Maybe that's because he's the hardest to break away from."
Wow, what the heck is this?
“Am I right?”
The person who turned Ryan into a criminal.
A brother who has done so many bad things that there is no room for reform.
So I didn't even recall the memories, and I just intentionally swore at Ryan like a bucket of trash...
...Elliot is a very complicated guy.
If you look at all his dark sides, he is an incredibly cheerful and affectionate person to his family.
Before I returned, I often interfered with his work.
'I've never been scolded before.'
It was my father and other brothers who warned me not to disturb Elliot.
When I was seventeen?
A bold first attempt to stop evil. The day Elliot's ship, which had been smuggled in, was completely burned.
The damage was so severe that Elliot was bedridden for a week, which just so happened to be my birthday.
“...What, what is all this, brother?”
"It's the day our Princess was born, so we should celebrate. I mean, I've been preparing this for a month."
Despite his haggard appearance, he got up and threw me a grand birthday party.
"I'm sorry, brother. But you keep bringing me weird stuff. I wish you'd stop doing that. Please."
“Ahaha, then! Our Princess, you have to do us a favor!”
Of course, it was just talk, and no one ever granted the request.
But even after we kept clashing, Elliot was reluctant to directly say anything bad to his beloved younger sister.
If I were upset, he would spend a lot of money and time trying to get me to let go.
It wasn't because my powers were particularly strong, or because he was trying to please me. He was always kind to all of his brothers.
Wow... It’s so complicated.
Because he is a human who knows what ‘family’ is.
“You asked him to apologize because you thought Elliot would be the kind of guy who would feel sorry for his own younger brother, right?”
Listening to Ryan's words, I was so dumbfounded that I laughed.
There really is nothing that can be hidden from this quick-witted person.
[...Yes, that’s right. Do you happen to have the ability to read other people’s minds?]
“Heh heh.”
Ryan smiled, wiggling his toes that were still curled up on his knees.
"I've been out of Elliot's company for a long time now. It's been so long that it's almost funny to even call us family. We were separated when we were young, and we haven't seen each other since."
[...]
[What?]
“It took me a long time to accept and accept that my father, my brothers, and my sister were no longer my family.”
Ryan added blandly.
"Humans are contradictory and multifaceted. Criminals who commit infinitely disgusting acts against others are also incredibly affectionate toward their families. With such affection, can you really cut them off from their families just because they're criminals? Isn't that difficult?"
[...]
"I spent over ten years in prison to get my mentality back on track, but you left home right after returning, so you didn't have time for that. You must have had your own struggles, but you didn't show them because you were worried about what I'd say."
Oh, my.
It's funny, really...
I wanted to ease Ryan's mind, but it turned out I was the one being comforted.
[Yeah, that's all true, but I've already made up my mind.]
“It’s not easy. Take your time.”
[What is the best choice I've ever made in my life?]
“What is it?”
[I left home and went to see my dad.]
“Oh, my.”
Thank you for becoming my new family. The year I spent with you was more comfortable and happy than the ten years I spent with my father, sister, and brothers before returning.
“...If you look closely, you can see that you say embarrassing things so easily?”
It's not that I'm shy about expressing my affection. You never know when something might happen to someone. When someone special is around, you should tell them often how much you like them and how much you love them.
So I...
Sister, I like you. Brother, I love you.
Father, thank you for giving birth to me.
I've said that a lot.
[Let's not worry about those bad brothers who are worse than not even there anymore. Don't get hurt.]
“I didn’t use it originally.”
[Instead of those people, I will stay by your side for the rest of your life.]
“Huh, that’s funny. Aren’t you going to set up a new home with the Third Prince?”
[I won't do it if Dad wants me to~]
"Seriously?"
[Seriously~]
...Isn’t that still a long way off? Let’s just give it a try.
Now that I've been comforted, it's more important for me to express myself to Ryan.
At that time.
Someone opened the barracks entrance roughly and barged in.
...? You, Nike!
What a strange timing!
“Oh my, Your Highness! You’ve worked hard. Are you feeling better already?”
Ryan said as he got up.
“Did you bring Vania?”
???
I was dumbfounded by Nike's urgent question. Incidentally, Nike didn't even know I'd followed her.
“Huh.”
Ryan tilted his head, pretending to be calm.
“Is she in Belzer now?”
“Don’t lie.”
Somehow, Nike was convinced.
I was confused and thought about it. Was there something that could have caused this?
'There isn't any?!'
Where on earth did you get this from...
“I saw you arguing with Elliot Wassenberg earlier.”
“...?”
What is this!
Ryan blinked.
And then, as if lost in thought, he stares blankly at Nike for a long time. He tilts his head, strokes his chin, and then...
He asked Nike in astonishment.
“How do you remember that?!”
The girl pointed at Ryan.
“If you were human, you must have felt something. At least apologize to your little brother.”
“...”
"He's the one who went to jail in your place, was treated like a criminal, and still tried to live hard. Don't expect forgiveness. Just apologize, you son of a bitch."
“...”
Elliot, who had been silent, sat up and stroked his cold nose.
Slowly, look around.
Countless eyes were already watching the commotion. Everyone who saw the girl who suddenly appeared must have seen it too.
'How do we fix this?'
That thought came to him first...
'No, I'll figure it out somehow.'
What's important now is that a new person with superpowers has appeared.
Even in the absence of Marina, the eighth sibling, she appears to be a stealth type of power user who could fill the void.
Where there's something to lose, there's also something to gain. The losses due to Ratan must have been significant, but at least they found a new power user.
“Phew.”
Elliot looked ahead with a sigh.
Ryan stands silently.
His younger sister, who has supernatural powers, holds his hand and glares at him with a grin.
“If he's incompetent, does that mean he’s not your younger brother?”
“You're not just a man, you're an older brother. How could you tell your younger brother to die...?”
“He's the one who goes to jail in your place, is treated like a criminal, and still tries to live hard.”
As Elliot chewed on those words, he looked at his younger brother, Ryan.
“Ryan...”
...pathetic guy.
He's suddenly so annoyed.
“If the child had developed a special ability, you should have returned her home.”
“...”
“...”
Silence fell.
Ryan, who had been blinking, soon chuckled and muttered.
“...I didn’t even expect it.”
The Eye of the Mirror - Poetry of Retrograde
***
Ryan was just trying to play the mindless, dumb younger brother to Elliot.
Elliot, who was mentally exhausted, vented his anger with harsh words, and he had no idea that Vania would get angry and storm out after hearing that.
Puck!
“Ah!”
Elliot, whose face was hit by Vania's knee, fell backwards.
'Huh? What? Why did you bring it here?'
Ryan blinked in surprise.
The timing of the regression is strange.
We need to wrap up the story before Vania reveals her true identity, before she emerges from the shadows...
“Young Master!”
The private leader drew his sword.
“Uh, uh... Yes! Stop it!”
Ryan frantically tries to stop Vania, worried that she might get a scratch on her precious younger sister's body.
Ryan felt a little bitter at seeing the sight of her winding back time.
"Sorry."
Vania turned to Ryan and apologized.
“I did something wrong.”
“...”
Ryan chuckled.
It was a bit embarrassing, but honestly, it was refreshing when she suddenly popped out and grabbed Elliot by the hair.
Perhaps what Vania wanted was an apology from Elliot, but she hadn't expected it in the first place.
"It's okay."
Ryan waved his hand and said.
“Should I roll it forward further?”
“Yeah, just a moment.”
Vania walked slowly toward Elliot. Ryan flinched for a moment as he watched her.
'No way?'
Elliot froze in embarrassment. He was sprawled on his back, his buttocks tumbled forward. His legs were spread wide like a frog's.
The center is exposed and defenseless.
It seems that Vania remembered Elliot's posture at that time and deliberately rewinded time to this point.
“Wait! That, that kind of thing...!”
Putting Elliot aside, Ryan, who thought it was too much for a man, was about to try to stop Vania from committing the evil deed.
'It's late...'
Vania quickly ran over to Elliot and stomped on his shins, hoping he would come to his senses and get back on track.
“Ewwh ..."
Ryan turned his head sharply.
It was a sight so cruel that he could not bear to watch it.
***
“Why are you like that, girl?!”
[Why~ It was so refreshing~]
“What do you mean, refreshing! Right now, everything inside me feels like it’s hurting!”
[Is that all? I don't have it, so I don't know. If that's the case, then it's a bit disappointing. I was just trying to cheer you up, Dad.]
Inside the barracks.
Outside, the demons' blood is spewing out, but Ryan is lying leisurely with his arms at the back of his head and his legs crossed.
A battlefield where you can suffocate the demons who refuse to resist. Subjugation is as easy as eating bread while lying down.
This is because there was no need for all soldiers to come out, so a three-shift suppression method was chosen to maintain physical strength.
Ryan is waiting for his turn after the second lull.
'Ratan tastes sweet.'
It may seem vulgar to think this way, as I had gritted my teeth and tried to stop the Prince, but I couldn't deny that things had become easier.
It's refreshing to think of Elliot, who was on the verge of tears at how bewildered he felt by Ratan's appearance.
Of course, it was annoying that that son of a bitch took it out on Ryan for no reason.
“Don’t be like a rhinoceros and keep hitting me like crazy just because you think you can go back.”
[...? It’s funny to hear that from Dad. Don’t hit me, Dad.]
"No, this one doesn't mean anything. You should only use it when you have something to gain from returning."
[I got something. I was so frustrated I almost died of a heart attack, but after pulling out a bunch of Elliot's hair and smashing the middle part, my heart felt at peace.]
[Honestly, if we don't even try this secret retribution, how will we survive the next few years? Those bad guys will just ignore us and say something unlucky every time we meet.]
'Yeah, but it was for nothing.'
I swallowed a sigh.
Honestly, I was so angry that I ran away half impulsively, but I still planned to get an apology from Elliot.
Ryan wasn't the type of person who would let Elliot live just because he was willing to sacrifice his life for an apology...
I just hope that his hurt feelings will at least be alleviated.
But it ended up just revealing Elliot's annoying inner feelings once again, as he didn't even think of Ryan as a brother and didn't feel sorry for him.
“Hey, be honest. Were you close with the second child?”
...Suddenly?
Ryan's question made me flinch.
When did I ever tell you about my relationship with Elliot?
"I've been listening to you talk about your brothers all this time. They're all trash, but you always criticize Elliot the most. Maybe that's because he's the hardest to break away from."
Wow, what the heck is this?
“Am I right?”
The person who turned Ryan into a criminal.
A brother who has done so many bad things that there is no room for reform.
So I didn't even recall the memories, and I just intentionally swore at Ryan like a bucket of trash...
***
...Elliot is a very complicated guy.
If you look at all his dark sides, he is an incredibly cheerful and affectionate person to his family.
Before I returned, I often interfered with his work.
'I've never been scolded before.'
It was my father and other brothers who warned me not to disturb Elliot.
When I was seventeen?
A bold first attempt to stop evil. The day Elliot's ship, which had been smuggled in, was completely burned.
The damage was so severe that Elliot was bedridden for a week, which just so happened to be my birthday.
“...What, what is all this, brother?”
"It's the day our Princess was born, so we should celebrate. I mean, I've been preparing this for a month."
Despite his haggard appearance, he got up and threw me a grand birthday party.
Inviting even the highest nobles without exception with lavish gifts, and even renting the largest hall in the institution.
“Ahaha, then! Our Princess, you have to do us a favor!”
Of course, it was just talk, and no one ever granted the request.
But even after we kept clashing, Elliot was reluctant to directly say anything bad to his beloved younger sister.
If I were upset, he would spend a lot of money and time trying to get me to let go.
It wasn't because my powers were particularly strong, or because he was trying to please me. He was always kind to all of his brothers.
Wow... It’s so complicated.
Because he is a human who knows what ‘family’ is.
***
“You asked him to apologize because you thought Elliot would be the kind of guy who would feel sorry for his own younger brother, right?”
Listening to Ryan's words, I was so dumbfounded that I laughed.
There really is nothing that can be hidden from this quick-witted person.
[...Yes, that’s right. Do you happen to have the ability to read other people’s minds?]
“Heh heh.”
Ryan smiled, wiggling his toes that were still curled up on his knees.
"I've been out of Elliot's company for a long time now. It's been so long that it's almost funny to even call us family. We were separated when we were young, and we haven't seen each other since."
[...]
"But you're different. You never show it, so I never really thought about it deeply, but now I'm suddenly worried?'
“It took me a long time to accept and accept that my father, my brothers, and my sister were no longer my family.”
Ryan added blandly.
"Humans are contradictory and multifaceted. Criminals who commit infinitely disgusting acts against others are also incredibly affectionate toward their families. With such affection, can you really cut them off from their families just because they're criminals? Isn't that difficult?"
[...]
"I spent over ten years in prison to get my mentality back on track, but you left home right after returning, so you didn't have time for that. You must have had your own struggles, but you didn't show them because you were worried about what I'd say."
Oh, my.
It's funny, really...
I wanted to ease Ryan's mind, but it turned out I was the one being comforted.
[Yeah, that's all true, but I've already made up my mind.]
“It’s not easy. Take your time.”
[What is the best choice I've ever made in my life?]
“What is it?”
[I left home and went to see my dad.]
“Oh, my.”
Thank you for becoming my new family. The year I spent with you was more comfortable and happy than the ten years I spent with my father, sister, and brothers before returning.
“...If you look closely, you can see that you say embarrassing things so easily?”
It's not that I'm shy about expressing my affection. You never know when something might happen to someone. When someone special is around, you should tell them often how much you like them and how much you love them.
So I...
Sister, I like you. Brother, I love you.
Father, thank you for giving birth to me.
I've said that a lot.
[Let's not worry about those bad brothers who are worse than not even there anymore. Don't get hurt.]
“I didn’t use it originally.”
[Instead of those people, I will stay by your side for the rest of your life.]
“Huh, that’s funny. Aren’t you going to set up a new home with the Third Prince?”
[I won't do it if Dad wants me to~]
"Seriously?"
[Seriously~]
...Isn’t that still a long way off? Let’s just give it a try.
Now that I've been comforted, it's more important for me to express myself to Ryan.
At that time.
Someone opened the barracks entrance roughly and barged in.
...? You, Nike!
What a strange timing!
“Oh my, Your Highness! You’ve worked hard. Are you feeling better already?”
Ryan said as he got up.
“Did you bring Vania?”
???
I was dumbfounded by Nike's urgent question. Incidentally, Nike didn't even know I'd followed her.
“Huh.”
Ryan tilted his head, pretending to be calm.
“Is she in Belzer now?”
“Don’t lie.”
Somehow, Nike was convinced.
I was confused and thought about it. Was there something that could have caused this?
'There isn't any?!'
I communicated with Ryan telepathically, but acted as if nothing was amiss. Whenever Ryan answered me, he always whispered.
“I saw you arguing with Elliot Wassenberg earlier.”
“...?”
What is this!
Ryan blinked.
And then, as if lost in thought, he stares blankly at Nike for a long time. He tilts his head, strokes his chin, and then...
He asked Nike in astonishment.
“How do you remember that?!”
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