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 4 Chapter 3.6
Her full name was Yurika Whylav Dashpuus. With her iris the color of bellflowers and long straight hair, one could predict her affinity for water. Her facial features were well-proportioned, and she had an attractive figure with a captivating charm, especially her legs, which hinted at their strength with just a glance. With such exquisite beauty, she would undoubtedly have become the most popular person in Class A1, if not for the prevalence of nobles.
She seemed to hail from a remote settlement composed solely of White Rabbit Beastmen, carrying the expectations of her clan as she came to the capital. She possessed enough talent to rank among the top ten, and one could understand the feelings of the adults in her hometown.
After exchanging introductions, Nina and I listened to Yurika’s story while having a meal in the dining hall. Due to her shyness, she often stammered, but with our support, she gradually became more comfortable talking.
“Once again, thank you so much for helping me earlier!”
“Don’t worry about it. We just happened to be there.”
“It’s a mutual thing, helping each other.”
“Oh, your kindness truly touches my heart. It might be the first time I’ve been treated so kindly since coming to the capital.”
Yurika seemed to have had quite a streak of bad luck. Well, her aura did give off a somewhat unfortunate vibe.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Feel free to rely on us if you run into any trouble.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly burden a noble-sama…”
A shrinking and apologetic Yurika.
Admittedly, it was considered inappropriate for commoners to use nobles conveniently. However, it was also the duty of nobles to protect the lives of commoners.
“No need to worry. I just don’t want to see talented individuals crushed by idiots. So, there’s no need to be so formal.”
Of course, I wouldn’t mind having her join Foranada, but I shouldn’t let unnecessary desires show right now. She mentioned having bad encounters so far, and revealing any ulterior motives would put her on guard.
While thinking that in my mind, Nina unexpectedly sighed.
“Even if he speaks in a fake way, Zex is just too kind-hearted. He just has an extraordinary sense of values. You can relax.”
“Hey, calling me extraordinary is rude.”
“I’m actually complimenting you.”
“You’re not complimenting me…”
“Hey, I’m praising you…”
“Hehehe.”
While we were arguing, Yurika suddenly started laughing. It seemed like a genuine laughter coming from the depths of her heart.
Seeing us exchanging puzzled glances, she hurriedly opened her mouth to explain, “A-ah, sorry, I-it’s not like I’m laughing at you! I just, um, that…”
“Calm down. We know it wasn’t intentional laughter.”
“Deep breath.”
Yurika took a few slow breaths to compose herself. Then she began explaining again.
“Um… I just felt happy seeing how close you two are. Even someone as talented as Nina-san can become close with noble-sama, who I thought would be living in a completely different world.”
It seemed she genuinely felt joy at the possibility of getting along well with many people. She must have felt that way because she hadn’t been able to have good interactions with others since coming to the capital.
In a sense, her observation was correct. However, our situation was different.
“Zex and I are different.”
Nina shared the same sentiment and firmly denied her statement.
“Different? How so?”
“Yeah. Zex and I have been close even before I became strong. So, it’s different from what Yurika was saying.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. I met Nina when I was just an ordinary adventurer.”
Yurika turned her gaze toward me, and I supported Nina’s words.
Actually, I’ve known her since the time she was a beaten-down slave, but externally, we pretend that Six and I are different people, so I kept that part to myself.
After receiving our response, Yurika seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then, she put on a slightly forced smile.
“I envy you both. I hope to find someone I can trust someday.”
I could sense that she was carrying some worries.
However, now wasn’t the time to probe further. We had only met her recently, so it would be impolite to pry into her personal matters.
Afterward, we engaged in safe small talk and walked Yurika to the front of the girls’ dormitory. Although she was initially overwhelmed by being escorted by the noble-sama, she seemed less nervous as we neared the end. I’d like to think that we had become somewhat close during our conversation.
After bidding farewell to Yurika, Nina and I walked side by side under the starry sky. We had already finished dinner, so all that was left was to return to our separate residence.
Suddenly, Nina spoke up, her thoughts overflowing. “Yurika is a nice girl.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
“I want to become friends with her.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
It was rare for Nina to initiate such a statement. The last time she did something like this was when she became friends with Caron. It seemed that she had taken a liking to Yurika. I also thought that Yurika, though timid, had a strong core.
We continued exchanging words at our own pace, pausing here and there during our walk. Although we could have used the “Phase Link Gate” to return instantly, we chose to walk on purpose. Both Nina and I wanted to savor the last lingering moments of the day.
However, the peaceful atmosphere was soon interrupted.
“Zex-sama, it’s an emergency.”
I received a telepathic message from one of the intelligence agents who was leading a unit deployed in the capital.
Feeling the unfortunate timing, I excused myself to Nina before responding.
“What happened?”
“The monitoring team for the Hero and Lady Lina has gone offline.”
“What do you mean?”
I squinted my eyes, sensing that the situation was far from tranquil.
“To be precise, they are not detected by our surveillance anymore. Moreover, they are not responding to telepathy either. Their safety is still unknown.”
“Where was the last location they were seen?”
“The coordinates are—”
The subordinate provided a location outside the capital, in the grasslands.
Even though I continuously maintained my detection magic, I couldn’t cover areas far beyond the city. It was too wasteful in terms of magical energy.
Expanding the range of my detection magic, I urgently tried to pinpoint the whereabouts of my subordinates.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue at the detection results.
Immediately, I issued instructions to my subordinates who were still in communication.
“Emergency message. Those heading to confirm the safety of the monitoring team of the Heroes, stop your actions immediately. Approaching them is strictly forbidden. I repeat—”
I canceled the dispatch of reinforcements.
Of course, I had a reason for doing so. In the detected area, there was a region of magical void where magic didn’t work. In other words, it was the only place where magic didn’t have an effect.
Most likely, Yudai and the monitoring team were within that area. Their reactions ceased because they were in a location where magic didn’t function, and they couldn’t respond to communications. If magic didn’t work, then sending reinforcements would be futile. It would only add more victims.
And then, I remembered a similar phenomenon. It was the unknown magical device that Count Putepe possessed in the past, which severely inhibited the manipulation of magical energy. The current situation bore a striking resemblance to it.
This might be a chance to expose the mastermind targeting Nina. I wasn’t one to let such an opportunity slip away. While I couldn’t send my subordinates, I could handle the situation myself.
I opened a “Phase Link Gate” just before the magical void area. As I turned around to call out to Nina, she met my gaze with determined eyes.
“I’m going too.”
“It’s dangerous—”
“Lina is there, right? Then I’m going.”
“…”
She shouldn’t have received my telepathic message earlier, but she seemed to have a keen intuition in strange moments.
With her firm resolve, it seemed challenging to change her mind easily. Time was of the essence, and there was no other choice. With her abilities, she shouldn’t be a burden.
“Alright, we’ll go together.”
“Yeah!”
Nina and I rushed into the “Phase Link Gate.”