Chapter 274: Younger Sibling Part 3

Georg never saw himself as a proper adult.

He simply lived a long time and devoted himself to his studies. That’s all he was: a scholar.

That, he believed, was the fair assessment of who he was.

And of course it was.

What do I even know…

The Cradle, two years ago, had gone through an all-out war.

Many had died, and many had suffered.

It was common for a casual morning conversation with a student to turn out to be the last.

He hated that every morning, when he greeted students, he had to wonder if it might be the final time.

Whenever the students went out to fight, the moments he spent in the safety of the rear, preparing medicine, were suffocating.

At first, Georg did everything he could. He tried to comfort the students and even pushed his body to the brink to stockpile medicine.

But when the despair on the students’ faces turned into guilt, and that guilt became self-reproach…

Georg couldn’t do anything.

He couldn’t understand what they must have felt.

And he knew full well that shallow empathy only made things worse.

And now—

Johan Damus, the student who, like him, had stood somewhat apart from that gloom, had changed.

No, putting it that way made it sound like some sudden transformation.

He’s slowly starting to resemble them.

Like a lump of metal melting in a furnace, Johan was gradually becoming more like the students from two years ago.

And what confirmed it was—

“Chris, nothing troubling happened while I was gone, right? I wasn’t gone so long that it made you anxious, was I?”

“No, not at all, big brother. Honestly, I lost track of time! I guess it’s because I was much more relaxed this time around than when I last came to the capital. Haha!”

Watching Johan pretending to be the “good older brother” in front of Chris….he was now exactly like the students from back then.

“……”

Georg quietly observed the scene.

He hadn’t been able to do anything for those students, and what they had been given was simply time.

And now, with time having passed, the students had grown a bit brighter.

Not because someone had done something for them, but because they had found their own way to forgive themselves.

Johan would follow the same path.

And so…

“I’m going to bed. Have fun, then leave.”

Georg, once again, did nothing.

Because even now, he couldn’t truly understand what they had felt.

Because at this point, anything he tried to say might just come off as hollow.

Georg didn’t know.

Having devoted himself solely to alchemy, he had no idea what to say at times like this.

He was too unpolished to be called an adult and too inadequate to be called a teacher.

“……”

He had turned away so many times now, he’d lost count.

Dozens of times, he had shut his eyes to a cruel reality, hoping it would simply pass.

Georg opened his eyes.

And before him—

“No matter how hard you try, what meaning could it possibly hold? Death does not grant people second chances.”

The great sage Faust had appeared.

As always, he posed a question. His thoughts were fixated on death.

“It’s been a while.”

Georg mumbled, his eyes dull and clouded, as he looked at the seeker of death.

“Master.”

***

In the end, I failed to complete the mission of finding an inn in the capital.

Forget safety….just securing a halfway decent place to stay was impossible.

I considered asking Cattleya for help like I usually would, but…

It’s still awkward facing her.

I’d inevitably have to talk about Immun, and I’m still not ready for that conversation.

I thought about asking the Ether Duchy,

But Yuna, whom I threw to the wolves this morning as a scapegoat, still hasn’t come back.

Yeah…she still hasn’t returned.

Knowing her personality, if something like that had happened, she definitely would’ve come whining to me by now.

The fact that she hasn’t… means the conversation’s dragging on.

“So listen, kids, got it? Don’t say anything weird, don’t do anything weird…. just act normal.”

In the end, I had no other choice.

I decided to leave Chris with the Misfits for the time being.

Just for the time being.

This was the only place that was relatively safe and had its own brand of strong people.

Damn it… if I knew it’d come to this, I should’ve just asked Professor Georg to take him in for a few more days.

But after criticizing him like that, how could I possibly go back now and ask him for a favor?

Even I have some pride.

“Teacher, when you say things like that, it makes it sound like I’m not normal.”

“Excellent observation. That’s because you’re literally not, Helena.”

“…I feel a distance between us, Teacher.”

Yeah, well, it’s hard not to feel distant when your antics keep exceeding all my expectations.

“Anyway, I’m going to keep an eye on you today. You’ll need to learn how to live like a normal person if you want to function in society later.”

“Well, sure… but you, teacher?”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, uh… never mind.”

It came out sounding like I’d never lived a normal life and never would.

Well, I guess I do seem a bit odd right now.

I’ve gotten mixed up in all sorts of criminal groups, in and out, one after another… total chaos.

Honestly, the kids here? You could say I headhunted each one of them from a different organization.

But still, I’m someone with the sensibility of a relatively normal person.

I can say that with pride.

“Chris, you can come in now. They’re all good kids.”

“Oh, yes, Brother. Nice to meet you all. My name is Chris Damus.”

“……He’s really your brother?”

Helena looked up at me, suspicious, then glanced at Chris’s physique.

Maybe she’s been self-conscious lately about not growing much, like someone her age should.

Unfortunately, I had nothing comforting to say. These two were just bad reference points.

On one hand, there was Chris already a full head taller than me.

On the other hand, Helena who until just a year ago had been on death’s doorstep in a hospital bed.

One’s unusually tall, and the other is on the smaller side for her age.

“Helena.”

“Oh! Nice to meet you. I’m Helena Hereticus.”

“Hereticus? Wait, as in—?!”

“Yep. I’m a criminal.”

Helena, wasting no time, just laid it all out there.

I nearly let out a sigh, but no, this was probably for the best.

It wasn’t like she was wrong…

And it’s not like this would be the last time they saw each other.

If she’d tried to lie and then got caught later, that would’ve been worse.

Still, I do wish it had come out a bit more calmly and thoughtfully.

“Brother?”

“Come on in, Chris.”

The kids being weird is one thing,

But I did need to let Chris know about their even weirder backgrounds.

***

First, I gave him an explanation about Helena and the others’ backgrounds.

As a result, I also had to explain what kind of abilities they had that led them to become criminals.

…And that meant I also had to give him a rough summary of everything that had happened so far.

That’s right. I ended up telling Chris that I was someone with a foot in more than half of the criminal scenes in the Empire.

The rare chance to properly introduce everyone got buried under the sheer weight of all that story, and we decided to leave it for another time.

“Brother, the world is so much bigger than I thought…”

Chris sighed, as if sympathizing with both the dire state of the capital and my own even more miserable situation.

Yeah, Chris. Your brother’s been living a rough life.

“But I had no idea you were in that kind of situation…”

“If anything, it’s better that you didn’t know.”

Like I said earlier, I’m someone with more than just a foot in crime.

It’s not just a foot…I’m in up to my neck.

Knowing things like this is what gets people in trouble. Want to disappear without a trace?

In this world, the saying “knowledge gets you hurt” is pretty much literal.

“So the reason I’m so thin now is because that Varg’s curse you mentioned earlier has disappeared, right?”

“…Let’s go with that.”

He hasn’t gotten thin at all.

He’s lost some muscle compared to before, but even now, if he walked through the doors of a mercenary guild, the room would go silent from his presence.

If he used to look like a barbarian warrior, now he gives off the vibe of a seasoned mercenary.

“So that means there’s nothing wrong with my body. In fact, I’m finally completely healed this time, right?!”

“That’s right.”

“Thank goodness.”

Chris smiled brightly.

It might ruin the heartwarming mood to say this, but even though he’s my little brother, that smile was downright chilling.

He really was a pretty boy before he turned into this…

Damn that Varg, that wretched minor god!

“Since it’s the body you fixed for me, I kept wondering if I’d made some kind of mistake—if I was going to end up worrying you again like before. I still remember how everyone used to worry about me when I was in that hospital bed.”

“Chris…”

“So this is what ‘normal’ feels like.”

I hate to throw cold water on the moment, but… even now, this isn’t exactly “normal”.

If the curse really is gone, why hasn’t his build returned to what it used to be?

“Thank you for telling me so much today, big brother! I really appreciate that you didn’t gloss over things just because I’m young.”

“Well, I mean…”

Honestly, if I could have glossed over things, I probably would have.

But when you’re trying to explain beings whose very existence is basically a breeding ground for crime, you don’t really have that luxury.

I guess it’s more accurate to say I got so caught up trying to justify the more dangerous stuff that I forgot about the rest.

Judging by Chris’s reaction now, though, maybe it actually turned out for the best…

“Still, I’d like to study alchemy, Brother.”

“That stuff’s not fun.”

“I know. But I think differently. You said you studied alchemy to treat the illness, right? You threw yourself into something you didn’t even enjoy, with no guarantee it would lead anywhere.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Kind of embarrassing to admit.

But yeah, looking back, I really did all that.

Sure, there are probably plenty of people like me out there.

The reason I was able to succeed was because the Cradle backed me with resources and support without holding back.

“That’s why I want to follow the path you walked. I need to experience firsthand how difficult it is.”

“Why go out of your way to take such a hard path…”

“Because alchemy, this discipline you chose, is what brought me out from that dark, lifeless hospital bed and let me walk under the sun again.

That’s what made me curious about it.”

“…If you get bored along the way, you can always quit. There are plenty of other things you could do.”

“Exactly! There are so many things I could do. Actually, I’ve even been thinking about building up my physique. It’s pretty obvious my stamina isn’t what it used to be. Maybe I could even use alchemy to bulk up my muscles…!”

“That’s, uh… no… I mean…”

How do I tell him not to do that?

He’s already a monster like this. How am I supposed to say it nicely?

Now he’s talking like he wants to go from natural to full steroid mode.

“I hope one day I’ll reach a point where no one in the family has to worry about me, where I can assess and manage my own condition by myself.”

“……..”

“That’s my dream. To become a reliable adult that everyone can feel at ease with.”

Chris was still a kid.

Even though his physique has become bulky and imposing, that fact doesn’t change.

No, if anything, because of how he looks now, I’ve been trying even harder not to forget that Chris is still just a kid.

If we suddenly changed how we treated him, he might feel hurt.

…That’s what I thought.

[We started wondering if the child we always thought you were had actually grown up while we weren’t paying attention… We even thought maybe it was our fault for always doubting and worrying about you.]

All of a sudden, a line from my father’s letter came to mind.

Maybe what he wrote in that letter was something I too needed to understand.

Chris is still a kid. He’s definitely still a minor, a boy in his early youth.

But judging people solely by age isn’t always right.

Just like there are adults who don’t live up to their age, there are young people who mature early.

“I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.”

“I’m sure I do too.”

Looking at Chris laughing heartily, I realized he’s not the only one who has work to do.

“Seriously, there’s still a long way to go.”

If I want to remain a brother he can be proud of, I’ve got to put in some effort myself.

Looking back on it all… I was just as immature.