I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 3 Chapter 6.15
“Congratulations, Nina!!!!”
Amidst the words of celebration, the sound of simple musical instruments echoed through the party hall at the Forlanada Castle. It was a standing reception-style party attended by the people of Forlanada, excluding a few servants and knights. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful, with everyone enjoying the festivities.
“Nina, congratulations!”
“Nina-chan, congrats!”
“Hmph, don’t let this get to your head… Congratulations.”
“Congratulations, Nina-san.”
Karon, Orka, Minerva, Shion, and others—Nina’s usual companions—offered their congratulations and kind words one after another.
And finally,
“Congratulations on your promotion to Rank A. You’ve done well.”
It wasn’t Six—rather, it was Zex who smiled and praised her.
As you can probably guess, it was a party dedicated to Nina. After four years and seven months of training under Zex’s guidance, she had finally ascended to the rank of Adventurer Rank A.
It was truly… truly a long journey. Well, from the perspective of a regular adventurer, it was an impressively fast promotion, but the training she received from Zex during that time was grueling. She understood that it was to ensure her survival, but couldn’t there have been some other way to achieve that without the escalating “thing” they went through?
Well, that was all behind her now. After all, she had become an Adventurer Rank A, a titleholder of two aliases! With this level of strength, things would surely settle down a bit.
Nina was filled with excitement, but then came a single comment that dampened her spirits.
“You still have a long way to go to become even stronger, Nina.”
“Eh!?”
An uncharacteristic voice escaped her lips. Zex’s words were shocking, to say the least.
“Why…?”
Desperately trying to suppress her trembling, Nina asked for the reason.
Zex tilted his head in confusion.
“We made a promise, didn’t we? To become one of the world’s top adventurers.”
“Huh? When did we make that promise?”
“Uh, let me see… I think it was when we first camped out together.”
“Aaaaah!”
As the memory resurfaced clearly, Nina wailed in despair.
He was right. She did say it. When he asked, “What about becoming one of the world’s top adventurers?” she replied, “Needless to say.” Oh noooo, what a foolish past self she was! Why did she issue herself a one-way ticket to hell!?
“Stay strong, Nina!”
“Well… Don’t worry?”
“Yeah, I sympathize with you.”
“It’s a cliché, but do your best, Nina-sama.”
One after another, Karon and the others offered words of comfort.
Well, that’s to be expected. They have also gone through hellish training. It’s only natural that they would choose their words carefully so as not to get involved. It’s slightly annoying how amused they seem.
…Alright, let’s use that trick. It’s a good time for them to see it as someone else’s problem.
“Zex, Karon and the others also said they want to become stronger.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll have to come up with a special menu.”
“Eh!?”
“What!?”
“Woah!?”
Zex, full of enthusiasm, started contemplating, while Karon and the others had expressions of despair.
Despite their complaints and protests, I’ll just let it slide. Hehehe, it’s someone else’s problem for now!
Amidst the chaos and lamentation, the party continued.
The beginning may have been tumultuous, but overall, it was a normal party. Everyone was enjoying themselves with smiles on their faces.
In addition to the usual group, all the members serving in Foranada congratulated me. This castle truly has a warm atmosphere. It’s rare to find a noble family with so many kind-hearted people. I can’t draw a conclusion since I was practically under house arrest at my own home, but I understand that this atmosphere is created thanks to Zex’s charisma.
Looking back, I’ve been dependent on him for everything. He saved me when I was a broken-down slave, taught me how to survive, and even showed me how to resist the impending “death’s fate.” And finally, I managed to escape the status of a slave.
Yes, I am no longer a slave. By being promoted to Adventurer Rank A, I have officially become a true citizen of the Holy Kingdom.
The reason is simple. Rank A grants authority equivalent to that of a baron. However, remaining a slave would create a contradiction. The Holy Kingdom likely has its own intentions of keeping powerful individuals within the country.
Perhaps Zex had envisioned all of this when he groomed me to become an adventurer. He probably believed that in a weak position like that of a slave, I wouldn’t be able to resist the inevitable “death’s fate.”
I can’t stress it enough, but I’ve been nothing but reliant on him. I owe him a great debt. I want to repay him someday, but I can’t repay it without a plan. I need to think of something while I still can.
As the party reached its midway point, Karon suddenly asked a question.
“By the way, what was the request that led to your promotion to Rank A?”
“Haven’t you heard it from Zex?”
“Yes, but he told me to ask you directly. From your title, I can guess what you defeated, but…”
“Hmm.”
“Oh, I want to know too!”
“If you really want to know, I don’t mind telling you.”
Orca and Minerva chimed in as well. Other people also seemed interested and listened attentively.
I don’t know what Zex had in mind when he assigned this to me, but it’s not a troublesome matter, and if they’re asking, I’ll share the story.
“Alright, I’ll tell you.”
I nodded my head and began to speak.
“Well, it’s not a long story. One day, as I was heading to the Adventurers’ Guild, Zex suddenly kidnapped me and threw me into a dragon’s nest.”
At that time, I was astonished by his completely unexpected actions. Before I knew it, I was deep in an unfamiliar mountainous area, and in the next moment, a dragon was right in front of me.
It wasn’t going to let the intruder of the nest go unnoticed, so naturally, I was attacked. Of course, I fought back with all my might, using my one-handed sword and magic to battle the dragon desperately.
I fought for what felt like an eternity. At the end of the long and arduous struggle, I dealt the final blow to the dragon and emerged victorious.
After finishing my tale, everyone around me fell silent. I wondered what was going on.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Karon asked hesitantly, “Did you fight the dragon without any preparations?”
“Yeah, it was sudden.”
To elaborate, right after defeating one dragon, two more appeared. It seemed to be a nest with three dragons, and I was prepared to face death at that moment.
Well, I managed to defeat them all. Thanks to that, I obtained the title of “Dragon Slayer: Dragon Buster.”
By the way, I later heard that the additional dragons were an unexpected situation. The original request was to subdue a dragon that was attacking a nearby village, and it was not expected that there would be multiple dragons.
As I answered their questions, Karon looked up at the sky. I noticed that the people around us were becoming restless. I could hear voices saying, “Where is Lord Zex?” and “He’s nowhere to be found!”
In the midst of the confusion, Karon hugged me tightly.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Yeah, I’m really relieved that nothing happened.”
“Fighting multiple dragons without any preparation must have been tough.”
“I’m glad you made it back… Wait a minute. Even with preparations, wouldn’t fighting dragons still be tough?”
Not only she, but Orca, Sion, and Minerva also let out a sigh of relief.
Ah, I see. It’s understandable to be worried when someone fights dragons without any prior preparations. I didn’t realize it until they pointed it out; it seems I was heavily influenced by Zex.
Their kindness, caring so much for someone like me, an outsider from the beginning, slowly seeped into my heart. It was a warm environment that I couldn’t have imagined back then.
However, there was one thing that bothered me.
“Minerva also mentioned it, but can Shion really defeat dragons?”
Based on the previous conversation, it sounded like she could easily defeat them with preparations.
Even though she was Zex’s right-hand person, it seemed impossible for an ordinary servant. While thinking that, I couldn’t help but have a bad feeling.
And that feeling turned out to be true.
Shion responded very casually.
“Yes, I can defeat them. In fact, everyone working at Forlanada Castle, to varying degrees, can handle dragons.”
“What?!”
Mine and Minerva’s astonished voices overlapped.
The others didn’t seem perturbed. It seemed that only the two of us were unaware of this fact.
While I was dumbfounded, Minerva, even with her eyes spinning, managed to ask.
“W-What does that mean? Zex, Caroline, and Orca are one thing, but even the other subordinates can defeat dragons!?”
“Yes. Only Lady Caroline, Lord Orca, and I can defeat them individually, but if we face them as a group, even the servants can defeat them.”
Sion replied in a calm manner. Her unwavering demeanor made it impossible to doubt her words, whether we liked it or not.
Then, I could hear the complaints from the people around us.
“When Lord Zex took me to the dragon’s village, I thought I was going to die.”
“He said, ‘It’s time to show the results of hellish training!’ But I never expected the final test to be dragons.”
“The servants had it better since there was no limit on their numbers. We, as the knights, were ordered to defeat one dragon with a group of five.”
“No, no, no. We were originally non-combatants, so we could only win by overwhelming them with numbers.”
My head started to ache. Ordinary servants and average knights were laughing and saying, “Dragon extermination was tough, huh?” Is this the first circle of hell?
It seemed that Minerva also had the same impression, as she held her head and collapsed… Oh no, I want to escape from reality too.
Conclusion: Forlanada is not just Zex; everyone here is insane.