Chapter 27

While washing away yesterday’s grime in the shower, I let out a heavy sigh.

“I heard the story from the Vice Commander. You’ve been assigned to mingle with the residents to secure the town’s cooperation? Honestly, Varna-boy, you’re working a bit too hard… Oh, what’s with that look? You look like a pigeon that just took an arrow from the cooking squad.”

“That’s basically instant death, isn’t it!?”

Apparently—my absence had been “handled in that manner.”

According to what I heard from Calme later, that was the gist of it.

In short, they had attached a reason to my absence after the fact to cover up a disciplinary violation.

I happened to pass by Chronicler Yagara on the way, but he seemed to know nothing about it.

The old fox Luger had likely set things up that way from the start. That said, Vice Commander Rony seemed to view it positively, thinking that “if there’s a chance to gain local cooperation, it’s worth doing.” This meant my personal reconnaissance of the town had officially become a mission.

“Having a legitimate excuse helps, but things going this smoothly makes me a little uneasy.”

I turned off the shower, quickly wiped myself down, and stepped out of the stall.

Since the water on the Motive Carriages was limited, the amount allowed per room use was strictly fixed.

Besides, the space was cramped and cold, so it wasn’t a place where I wanted to linger.

“—Oh, are you just now finishing your bath, Varna?”

“Ah, good morning-ish, Senior Garmon.”

Just as I was leaving the shower area intending to head back into town, I ran into Senior Garmon. He had his usual gentle demeanor, but I felt a slight tension coming from him—perhaps it was just my imagination.

“Are you feeling particularly motivated today?”

“Yes. It’s a problem to let two days pass without finding the Orcs’ movement route, so the Skirmish Squad has decided to act on its own initiative. Oh, but of course, you’re free to continue your own mission, Varna-kun.”

It seemed the story about my “mission” had reached Senior Garmon as well.

He wasn’t wrong, but I felt a bit guilty, as if I were deceiving him.

To hide my awkwardness, I changed the subject.

“By the way, your younger brother is quite strong, isn’t he? At that level, he could probably hold his own against a knight.”

“…Yes. Just between us, he might have more talent than I do. I don’t say it out loud because I’m afraid people will laugh at me for being a doting brother, though.”

There wasn’t a hint of anything suspicious on the senior’s face.

He surely loved Nagi purely as a brother.

However, if that was the case, then what was with Nagi’s stubborn attitude?

‘Come to think of it… Nagi-san promised that if I won the duel, he’d tell me about Senior Garmon. The banquet started right after so I missed my chance, but I should go ask him later…’

To understand the relationship between these two, maybe I should try asking the brothers the same question.

“If he’s such a precious brother to you, why were you using real blades in yesterday’s fight? Even for training, I thought it was dangerous.”

“Because my brother insisted, so I had no choice. It’s a fact that real combat is the best way to hone one’s skills, and I’m sure Nagi had his own reasons for thinking that. That recklessness of his probably comes from a desire to feel the atmosphere of a real battlefield.”

“…I see. You really might be a doting brother, Senior.”

“Do I… really come across that way? Hmm… but as an older brother, I want to grant my younger brother’s wishes as much as I can.”

While I laughed it off, I felt a strong sense of dissonance deep down.

What was this? This extreme difference in perspective between the older and younger brother?

From my conversation with Nagi yesterday, it clearly felt like Nagi was making constant, reckless demands of his brother as a form of spite. It seemed like he harbored some kind of repressed frustration because his brother responded with such a casual, half-hearted attitude.

Yet the brother in question spoke of Nagi with nothing but praise; more than that, he spoke like an ideal brother who wanted to be a source of strength for him. I couldn’t detect any hint of doubt or disdain.

“The reason Nagi won’t ask the Knights for help is probably because he wants to solve their problems themselves without relying on others. Honestly, if he’d just say the word, I’d help him as much as he needed… though, I suppose that would technically be an abuse of my authority. My heart is still immature.”

‘Most of what he’s saying sounds right, but it’s subtly out of sync with the image of Nagi-san that I know…’

Sometimes, these kinds of discrepancies happen in the world.

A disharmony caused by the recipient misinterpreting someone’s principles or claims.

It’s hard to correct because it’s not exactly “wrong,” but the gears are definitely misaligned.

‘Why are these brothers so at odds with each other…?’

“…Oh, that’s right. Nagi doesn’t have many friends his own age. If you see him, would you mind being someone for him to talk to?”

“……Ah, yes! If it’s just that, it’s no trouble at all. Deep down, he’s not a bad guy anyway.”

“If it’s you, Varna-kun, I’m sure it’ll be fine… I’m a bit disliked by him, after all.”

“…”

Only that last, faintly heard sentence felt strangely heavy and real. A smile that looked somewhat like resignation played on Senior Garmon’s face as he spoke those words.

“Well then, I’ll be off now!”

“It’s darker out here than in the city, so watch out for sunset.”

I cut the conversation short and immediately headed toward Nagi.

I needed to find the truth behind the friction between these two.

After seeing the guard rotation finish, Nagi thought as he walked back toward town.

As things stood, the Kliffia Militia had no effective countermeasure against the Orcs.

On the other hand, the Pig-Hunt Knights didn’t seem to be making much progress either.

He didn’t know the specifics, but the fact that the ‘underling knight’ was out drinking suggested they hadn’t gathered enough information to make a major move yet.

‘Which means there’s still a chance to outmaneuver them. A chance to show up my brother… but what then?’

Recalling the rookies from earlier, Nagi made a sour face.

He talked a big game about resisting the Knights, but if amateurs tried to take on Orcs, people would die.

Since his brother was—however reluctantly—an expert in dealing with Orcs, Nagi understood that much instinctively.

‘The way everyone reacted when we fought that stray Orc before said it all. It was a wake-up call that we’d been getting ahead of ourselves.’

A massive body over two meters tall and a hideous, inhuman face.

Overwhelmed by that sheer pressure, the self-defense group hadn’t been able to move properly, stumbling back in fear.

Even Nagi himself hadn’t been sure in his heart whether his spear would work against an Orc. Still, he couldn’t show weakness in front of his subordinates, so he had ended up killing the Orc himself.

‘Looking back, that was a mistake… it just ended up emboldening the older folks. They didn’t even fight, but they went around bragging to everyone that ‘We killed an Orc, we’re great warriors too,’ so everyone else started believing it.’

What began as Nagi’s personal resentment toward Garmon had, before he knew it, given the entire self-defense group a baseless sense of confidence and pride. As the leader of the group, it was a complete failure in judgment. In a town militia built on personal relationships, even if Nagi said he wanted to back out now, the hot-headed locals would stubbornly refuse and likely resort to reckless action.

As their leader and the one responsible for their lives, he had no choice but to maintain a defiant attitude toward the Knights just to keep them under control.

“Damn it, my brother has it easy. Acting all cool while he brushes me off, then leaving as soon as the job is done. He has no idea how I feel… Gwah!?”

Suddenly, his foot felt weightless. Realizing he had stepped into thin air, Nagi frantically looked down to see that a section of the waterway—usually covered with a stone lid—was wide open. He lunged forward to brace himself with his hands so his whole body wouldn’t fall in, but he couldn’t save his leg. With a dull splash, one leg plunged into the water.

“Why is the waterway lid open!?”

He shouted involuntarily, and the residents who were starting to appear began to snicker or burst out laughing, telling him what a “disaster” it was. Seeing how pathetic he looked, Nagi moved past embarrassment and felt a sudden wave of misery.

“I scraped my palms, my hip joint made a creaking sound, and now just one leg is soaking wet… Damn it, I’d rather have just dived in and gotten the whole thing over with… Good grief, ‘curse others and you’ll dig two graves’, huh?”

Come to think of it, he had been easily defeated by that ‘Knight underling’ yesterday, too.

And the Orc appearance was more bad news.

It seemed Nagi’s luck was at an all-time low.

A few minutes later, upon hearing that there was more Orc-related damage in the fields, Nagi began to seriously contemplate whether he should actually buy one of those “Luck-Boosting Power Stones” his shady acquaintance was selling.

Children grow up watching their parents and family.

A parent’s behavior, common sense, and words are the cultural elements a child is exposed to most. It’s only natural for them to learn about the world while being dyed in those colors. Likewise, parents and elders naturally lend their strength and wisdom when a child is in trouble, and the child absorbs knowledge from that as well.

The scope of learning that goes beyond this voluntary acquisition is what we call “education.”

This education is a dilemma that has always troubled the world’s parents.

Spoiling them too much doesn’t always lead to failure.

Being too strict doesn’t always lead to failure either.

Providing the “perfect” education doesn’t guarantee success a hundred percent of the time.

Ultimately, no matter how it’s applied, success and failure always walk hand-in-hand with education.

What makes this problem even more troublesome is that the perceived success or failure can differ between the one receiving the education and the one providing it. It’s not uncommon for an educator to think things went well while the student harbors a deep-seated grudge. If humanity had managed to overcome this issue, phrases like “unfilial” or “a parent’s heart is unknown to the child” wouldn’t have been passed down through the generations.

That was why Garmon had resolved to be an older brother who knew Nagi well.

As an older brother, he had done his absolute best to help Nagi’s future, and even after becoming a Knight—his dream—he always kept his brother in mind. Especially after their grandparents passed away, he never missed a letter or a child-support payment, and he would cut back on sleep to return to his hometown during holidays just to maximize his time with his brother.

He didn’t want to become the same kind of person as their parents, who lived abroad and sent money but never showed their faces.

So, he watched over Nagi as the only family member who would at least show his face.

However, his younger brother didn’t appreciate it.

Whether it was a childish rebellious phase or something else, lately Nagi had become particularly selfish and had started to treat Garmon with open dislike.

In the past—back when they lived at their grandparents’ house—they used to laugh together all the time.

As children, they would share snacks bought with their allowance, argue over the portions, and fight over trivial things. But now was different. Garmon had become an adult; he had learned patience and how to give in.

He also had money; as a commoner knight, he had no time to spend it, so he had a decent amount saved up.

The round trips between the Royal Capital and his hometown were a drain on his stamina, time, and finances, but it wasn’t a burden if it was for his brother.

And yet, his brother did nothing but harbor resentment.

Even yesterday, Nagi had been sulking with a terrible attitude.

Ever since Garmon had become a Knight, this relationship had persisted.

‘What is missing between us? Tell me what you’re unhappy about. If it’s something I can do, I’ll make up for it.’

At the very least, unlike their parents, he wanted to give what he could as a brother.

Even if these feelings were a one-way street, and even if Nagi found him a nuisance.

That was why, if that was what his brother wished for—.

‘Until the day you say you ‘don’t want to see me,’ I want to be your brother.’