I Want to Fall in Love After Getting Reincarnated as the Heroine on the Verge of a Bad Ending, but My OP Older Brother Won’t Leave Me Alone!? - Chapter 159
Translated by: ShinigamiTori
Chapter 159 ? The Snow Queen
For a while, the Behemoth’s beast-like roar echoed through the air, but eventually, the surroundings became still and quiet as if the fierce battle from earlier had never happened.
“…”
A pool of blood slowly spreads around the giant body on the ground, and the Behemoth remains motionless, its golden eyes wide open.
Julius smoothly sheathed his sword and breathed out a sigh.
“Ahh, it’s been a while since I’ve been this exhausted.”
He lightly hopped off the Behemoth’s corpse and walked over to where I was sitting in a daze, crouching down to meet my gaze.
In the next moment, I found myself tightly embraced by his left arm, and my vision blurred from the warmth I loved so much.
“Good job, you did great.”
“N-No, Julius and everyone else worked so much harder than me! Thank you so much!”
I just had to shoot the arrows from a safe distance, according to the timing everyone had made for me. It was only because everyone fought through in the face of mortal danger that we were able to defeat the terrifying enemy, the mutant Behemoth.
Feeling relieved that everything was finally over, I gently rested my head on Julius’s shoulder.
“… Really, I’m so glad.”
That being said, I knew I had worked hard too, and the fact that Julius was safe made me happy. Feeling a bit clingy, I softly nuzzled my cheek against him.
Then Julius stiffened for just a moment, looking a bit flustered.
“You’re adorable, but what is it? Is something the matter?”
“Julius, Rene, I hate to interrupt your little lovefest, but we need to hurry down the mountain.”
“Ah, I’m sorry!”
“Could you please not interrupt us?”
It seemed like we had created a little world of our own at some point, and I quickly lifted my head in a fluster.
As I felt embarrassed about doing such a thing in public, Mylene-sama chuckled and affectionately ruffled my hair.
Even with her clothes soiled and damaged from the intense battle, Mylene-sama still looked beautiful.
“I didn’t want Rene and Yoshida to fight, but we ended up dragging you two in, and for that, I’m sorry.”
“Oh no! Truly, thank you so much for your effort!”
Even though Mylene-sama is only one year older than us, her kindness, sense of responsibility, and gracefulness make her someone I admire from the bottom of my heart.
She looked really cool fighting on the front lines, and I found myself wanting to be like Mylene-sama one day. Well, wanting to be exactly like her might be presumptuous, so I’d be content with just getting closer.
“Yoshida worked hard too, thank you.”
“… Not at all.”
Then Mylene-sama gently patted Yoshida’s head, and even he, perhaps a little embarrassed, adjusted his glasses with a slight push.
Blushing just because a beautiful woman patted your head—Yoshida, you pure-hearted boy, you really do have a cute side.
“Still, why do you think only Rene’s attack worked on the Behemoth?”
“Wh-Why indeed? Maybe it was thanks to TKG?”
There was no way I could explain it with a nonsensical reason like “Because I’m the heroine,” so I had no choice but to dodge the question.
Just then, with the sound of footsteps crunching through the snow, a carefree voice called out, “Hey, hey.”
“My arm is in a really bad state right now.”
“Huh…? G-Gyaaaaaaaah!!”
Arnold-san, who came to us with a smile, has extra joints in places where they shouldn’t exist and his arm is twisted in a way it definitely shouldn’t bend.
I screamed while Yoshida took several steps back with a horrified expression.
It was a sight beyond the realm of mere pain, and in this horror movie-like scene, I instinctively clung to Julius.
This time, Julius let out a small groan, “… Ugh.”
“W-What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Julius is only putting on a brave face for Rene, but he’s also really beaten up. He was the one who dealt the most damage, after all.”
“Could you not be so oblivious to the situation?”
Julius smiles bitterly, grabs my arm with his left hand, and stands up. His right hand seems particularly sore and remains down.
Other than that, he seems to have multiple injuries in several other places too, and I can’t help but wish I could have used healing magic like Jenny.
“Let’s just go home for now, especially since Arnold’s arm is like that.”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
“It really hurts. Rene-chan, please comfort me.”
“Uh, there, there…”
Even Julius seemed concerned about Arnold-san’s arm, and I couldn’t help but offer him some comfort too.
“Rene, can you take care of the preservation gem for the Behemoth?”
“Oh, right! Yes, of course.”
“We’ll undoubtedly be the champions this year. Actually, I think this will be the best hunt, past or future.”
I’d been so focused on surviving that I’d completely forgotten about the hunting tournament. A mutant Behemoth is a rare sight, and defeating one is next to impossible.
I quickly took out a small gem and, even though I knew it wouldn’t move again, cautiously approached the Behemoth and placed it at its feet.
With a soft whoosh, the massive body was enveloped in a pale blue light. I had been worried whether the gem would be able to contain something of this size, but it seemed to handle it just fine. Magic is amazing.
“Phew, hunting snow rabbits turned out to be something entirely different, huh?”
The five of us looked at each other and laughed at the ordeal we had gone through, and then, using magic, we descended the mountain together.
???
“Ta-da! How do I look? Do I look cute?”
“Yes. You’re the cutest in the world.”
“… Sorry, I was joking, but your straightforward agreement is making me embarrassed. Forget I asked.”
“What’s with that?”
The next day, in my room at the Wainwright’s mansion, I placed a tiara with a large, shining sapphire on my head and showed it off to Julius.
Sitting beside me on the couch, Julius smiles and claps his hands enthusiastically.
??This was given to me as the Snow Queen during the hunting tournament. The quality is remarkable, a testament to the power of Duke Shearsmith.
“Was it really okay for me to have this?”
“Yeah, everyone agreed that it should go to you.”
Because we were missing, the closing ceremony hadn’t taken place, and as a result, the mutated Behemoth was declared the top catch.
No one had ever thought that it actually existed, and the fact that we were students alone caused a stir when we defeated it, and it was even featured in this morning’s newspaper. It’s kind of embarrassing, like we’ve become famous.
Even so, knowing that Duke Shearsmith and Yoshida’s father were desperately searching for us made me feel guilty, though it wasn’t really our fault.
Then, after receiving treatment safely, during the closing ceremony, everyone insisted that I should be crowned as the Snow Queen. At least, Julius’s injuries and Arnold’s arm were healed, which was a relief.
Although our injuries are healed, we’re still quite tired, so we’ve promised to spend today just relaxing.
“Does it make you happy?”
“Yeah! The hunting tournament was so much fun! I don’t want to experience anything that scary again, though.”
“Really? If you feel that way, I’m glad.”
I hate even remembering the Behemoth incident, but everything else was so much fun. It’s definitely thanks to everyone who participated with me, and it makes me realize once more how much I love them
“Thank you too, Julius. You were so cool!”
“Did you like it?”
“Ugh… M-Maybe just a little.”
“Hahaha, I’m happy to hear that. I guess I should thank the Behemoth.”
“Geez!”
Julius may be joking around like this now, but in reality, he must have endured a lot of pain and hardship then.
But still, he continued to act as usual so as not to worry me. In my eyes, Julius is the coolest person in the world.
“Oh, right. With the whole situation with TKG, I want to give you something in return as a thank you. What would you like?”
I asked, hoping to thank the other three at a later date. Julius looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled.
I know that when he makes this face, he’s usually up to no good.
“I’d like a kiss.”
“Okay, I understand.”
“??What?”
Even so, I extend my hand to Julius’s face and press my lips against his cheek for just a brief moment. It felt like something that had to be done quickly, or I wouldn’t be able to do it at all.
It seems he truly didn’t expect me to do it, as he wore a genuinely surprised expression, blinking in disbelief.
Seeing Julius look so rare and taken aback, the embarrassment I had felt vanished, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Hehe, you’re making such a funny face—wait, ah!”
However, in the blink of an eye, I was pushed down onto the sofa and the situation was reversed. There was no embarrassment left in Julius’ face as he looked down at me.
“That was kind of unfair, wasn’t it? Can I do it too?”
“T-That’s not the same, and no, you can’t.”
“Too bad, I’m not listening.”
“I’m sorry! I got carried away! Please forgive me! Aaaaaaaah!”
Although I managed to prevent him from kissing me, for a while afterward Julius was clinging to me and my heart was pounding non-stop, so I couldn’t relax at all.
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