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 42
Translated by: ShinigamiTori
Chapter 42 ? Overnight Trip 6
“Look, now’s your chance. Hit it.”
With Julius’s whispered instruction in my ear, I immediately released a burst of fire magic at the tiny, rodent-like monster charging toward us.
After twelve attempts, I finally landed a hit, causing the creature to emit a sharp cry and fall to the ground. Once it turned into ashes and disappeared, Julius patted my head.
“Oh, you got it! Good job, well done!”
“I did it…!”
Since then, we’ve just kept going forward, and whenever weak monsters appear, I receive hands-on training in offensive magic.
Even if I failed, Arnold-san would swiftly take care of it, ensuring that I could practice safely.
“Rene-chan, how about I teach you water magic next?”
“Oh, um….”
“You should stop teaching people things. You’re not cut out for it. Just stay quiet and deal with the monsters.”
In response to my brother’s cold words, Arnold-san chuckled and said, “Julius, you’re so harsh,” and without even looking at the monster that flew from the shadows, he promptly froze it.
Honestly, these two are on a completely different level. Seeing their S-rank prowess, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about my past determination to reach the highest rank.
“I hope everyone is okay…”
“I’m sure they’re fine. Therese and Yoshida seem to be quite capable.”
It was clear that my brother had a high regard for the two. In fact, I can’t help but hope that everyone is proceeding smoothly now that I’m no longer a burden.
Then, after another hour of walking, I heard what sounded like an explosion. Recognizing that distinctive sound as Willy’s magic, I tug on Julius’s hand and pull him along.
The moment I spotted the five of them, I had the urge to cry.
“Everyone….!”
“Rene! You’re safe…!”
Urged by Julius’s voice saying, “Go ahead,” I dashed towards Therese and hugged her tightly. Her voice, trembling as she murmurs, “I’m so glad you’re safe,” makes my vision blur.
I was deeply relieved to see that the four of them were also safe, though more battered than before. However, as soon as I locked eyes with Yoshida, he berated me with a booming voice, “Are you an idiot?!”
The lack of glasses on his face allows me to see his beautiful honey-colored eyes more clearly.
“Don’t you ever try to protect me again!”
“I-I’m sorry. But we’re all safe now, right?”
I’m in a position where I was miraculously rescued by Julius, so I can’t act high and mighty. However, even Yoshida, no matter how skilled he is, couldn’t have remained unharmed in that situation—it just didn’t seem possible.
That’s why I don’t regret my decision. If faced with the same situation again, I’d most likely make the same choice. That said, it doesn’t change the fact that I had caused him a great deal of worry.
“Yoshida, I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“… I’m really glad you’re okay. I didn’t feel truly alive until I saw you like this.”
The earnestness of his voice conveys how much he was worried about me. As he eventually mumbled words of thanks, I nearly burst into tears again, so I clung to his arm and blurted out, “Yoshida, I love you!”
But I was immediately pulled away by my brother, who said, “That’s too much.” It appears there are boundaries even with Yoshida.
“Yoshida-san has been worried about Rene-chan the whole time.”
“Don’t say unnecessary things. If you’re going to say that, it goes for all of you too.”
“He would bang his head against the wall whenever he got anxious.”
“I was only bumping into them because I didn’t have my glasses on.”
Everyone’s exchanges warm my heart. Even the prince, who hadn’t said a word, smiled faintly when our eyes met.
Meanwhile, Willy said, “I’m so glad you’re safe,” and turned his attention to my brother, who was hugging me from behind, and Arnold-san, who was standing beside him.
I didn’t have to ask where that was going.
“Why is your brother here?”
“Well, actually….”
And then, I began to talk about what happened after I parted ways with everyone.
???
“Your brother is pretty amazing. He’s super cool.”
“Right?”
“Thank you. Feel free to be close with Rene as well.”
“Does that need your approval?”
As we all continued forward together again, I had been listening to everyone’s experiences up until now, and it seemed like they had gone through quite a lot too.
The level of the monsters kept increasing, and it was a relentless barrage of fire and water attacks. Therese, who was beautiful even in her battered state, sighed, “I can’t wait to go home and take a bath.”
?
“Hey, what’s that?”
We soon came across a massive door at the end of the way. Julius kicked the door open, leaving the rest of us to brace ourselves for a trap. He was almost recklessly fearless.
On the other side of the door, there was nothing but a surprisingly well-lit small room, and it appeared to be a dead end.
“…. What is this place?”
“Who knows?”
In the center of the room is a small altar of sorts. On top of it was a beautiful ring adorned with a bright red gemstone.
“Ow!”
When Willy casually reached for the ring, it produced a crackling sound and pushed him away. Julius tried the same, and it seemed to produce the same result.
“Hmm, what should we do?”
“Should we go back to the splitting road we encountered before?”
While everyone was talking about turning back, I was alone staring at the very suspicious ring. The fact that it was kept in a place like this was as if it had been written that it was an important item.
Just as a last-ditch effort, I extended my hand, fully expecting to be rejected. However, to my amazement, the moment I made contact, the ring firmly slid onto my finger.
“Eh?”
I couldn’t help but let out a startled exclamation, and at the same time, mysterious characters started to emerge on the entire floor of the room, emitting a pale blue glow. Overwhelmed by the brightness, I closed my eyes, and suddenly, my body felt weightless, enveloped in a floating sensation.
And in the next moment, when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a familiar forest. There is no trace left of that altar-like ruin.
“…. Did we make it out?”
“…. It seems so.”
“T-Thank goodness….”
Despite the eerie red ring snugly fitted on my right ring finger, I felt relieved that we all managed to escape safely.
“This is bound to cause some trouble, isn’t it?”
“I’m sure.”
The sky had already darkened, and with all of us, including the prince, missing, it would certainly have become a major issue.
On top of that, the makeshift dungeon, which was the cause of all this, has also disappeared, so there seems to be no excuse.
“What should we do now? It seems impossible to go home right away.”
“I’ll just have to explain the situation properly and stay at the same place as these guys. I’m good at this kind of thing, so leave it to me.”
Julius was surprisingly confident in his words, so in the end, we decided to entrust him with explaining the whole situation, including our own circumstances.
When we returned to the hotel, I was still very concerned that there was a major search going on, though. My brother explained to us that we were not to be blamed for anything. When I asked him what he explained, he didn’t tell me, which made me feel even more anxious.
Nevertheless, it was a relief to be out of trouble. I was truly exhausted by the events of the day. After having dinner and taking a bath, I decided to head straight to bed.
“We’ve set aside a room for you both, so you can get some rest. Then tomorrow, you can come back with us.”
“Yes. Thank you very much.”
I thanked the incredibly kind female teacher and, with a room key in hand, my brother took my hand as if it were the most natural thing and started walking.
“No, my room is over there.”
“You and I share a room.”
“….. What?”
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