Chapter 25

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From Granos' Perspective

"…What a troublesome kid. I’m not your real brother, you know. You should be a bit more cautious."

The girl, her eyes red and swollen from crying, had cried herself out, successfully releasing the pent-up emotions.

Relieved, she fell asleep as soon as she got into bed.

"Well, well… I wonder if teaming up with you will turn out to be a blessing or a curse."

---

A week ago, I was reincarnated into this world. In my previous life, I had been afflicted with a serious illness since childhood and spent most of my time in a hospital bed, so I felt joy at being able to move my body freely. However, the excitement didn't last long.

"Is it the same in every world?"

People are ranked, and those deemed useless are discarded without much information being shared. They are neither used nor killed, just kept alive in a state of limbo. I made a mistake by joining a group when someone approached me while I was confused. I was only allowed to be there, not to do anything.

"Hey, what level is your weapon and can you use magic?"

"Hmm? My weapon level is 1. I’m a swordsman. I can’t use magic."

"Ah, what a disappointment."

After asking me abruptly, the response was lackluster once they heard my answer. It seemed that the group had already established a hierarchy, and I was at the bottom.

Occasionally, I was given some roasted monster meat and water, but otherwise, I was ignored or forced to listen to their self-congratulatory ramblings. When I tried to leave the group, I was stopped and scolded for disrupting the group's activities. I just sat there, wasting time.

"What a ridiculous situation."

I was apparently deemed useless. I don’t understand it. Yes, my skill level is 1, but I have a unique skill called 'Mastery of the Sword.' My body understood its effects, and I felt a power I didn’t have in my previous life. No matter how much they mocked me, I was confident that as long as I held a sword, I was the strongest among them.

That’s why I endured.

"What do you think of those who haven’t returned?"

"Well, I hope they haven’t been captured due to some mistake."

The group had been discussing various things, and the leaders had collected everyone’s leftover money to go into town. This must have happened before I came here.

I wasn’t given any explanation, but it didn’t bother me much. Two days had passed, and the group was starting to get anxious. I didn’t care, but it felt like they were trying to cling to me, which made me uncomfortable.

I had no expectations from this group from the start, but I could feel the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense. They were worried about the leaders not returning and the ones who had contributed money were complaining. Without a leader to keep them in line, the atmosphere was deteriorating. If this continued, the group would likely fall apart.

I could leave the group, but it wouldn’t be interesting since someone had already done it. What should I do?

"To those who have come from another world, we will allow you to enter the town and become adventurers if you agree to disclose your status."

An old man with white hair and a white beard arrived with a few strong-looking men and made this announcement. The disclosure included skills and magic.

As the group members eagerly disclosed their statuses, I looked around. It seemed a special tool was needed for the disclosure, and a line was forming. I noticed several people observing us from a distance.

I displayed my status. I had no money, so I had no choice but to accept the condition, but I found it unappealing. I wanted to do things my way in this new life, not be swayed by others.

Moreover, for some reason, the people here were wary of me. A man positioned himself near me in a way that didn’t seem unnatural… and others were observing me from places where they shouldn’t be able to see me.

"What should I do?"

I sat down instead of joining the line and muttered to a nearby man.

"Aren’t you going to join the line?"

"No, I don’t find the proposal very appealing."

"Hmm… I see."

The man laughed, clearly amused. He must have some ulterior motive. I signaled to one of the observers, and their gaze shifted away. This man seemed to have some authority.

"If you’re not going to register, just sit there. Once the others are done, the guild leader will come to you."

"Is that okay?"

"For adventurers, information is a weapon. Working with someone who reveals everything without thinking can be fatal. If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. The consequences are your own responsibility."

I see. That makes sense.

This man understands, and from his reaction, the guild leader seems to be reasonable as well. If everything is my own responsibility, including the risk of death, it’s easier for me to act.

"Hmm… Why am I being wary?"

"It’s not just you. You, that kid over there, and the woman in white are all considered suspicious."

"Why?"

"You and the kid are simply too strong. If you go wild, it’s troublesome, and it would be difficult to control you."

"Ah… I was considered useless in the group I was with."

"You have your standards, and we have ours. You’re considered the most troublesome in that group. Well, I’m leaving, so good luck."

I refused to disclose my status. The guild leader only told me not to camp where the town could see me and to be careful about my appearance to avoid being mistaken for a thief. I was then free to go, feeling a bit anticlimactic.

Naga, a boy who also refused to disclose his status, and I decided to camp a bit away from the town.

"Quite a stimulating world, isn’t it?"

"…Why did you refuse?"

"You refused too, right? Why?"

"I… didn’t want to be with those people. They looked down on others and were all talk."

"I feel the same. This way, we’re free from them."

"…Yeah."

We didn’t exactly hit it off, but we decided to act together. Naga was unapproachable but a good kid. His actions seemed younger than his appearance, and he made a face when I tried to act older. He might be around the same age as me, in his early teens.

We spent some time together, but we soon ran out of food and water.

When I thought about killing a monster for money, I saw a girl picking herbs nearby. I recognized her from the group that had gone into town.

"Should we talk to her?"

"What about?"

"There’s a kid who looks like me. Want to try talking to her?"

"…Where is she?"

"Hmm? Oh… a bit far, maybe?"

This world’s abilities are impressive. Thanks to the 'Eagle Eye' ability, I could see far distances. Naga couldn’t see her from that distance.

"Why do we need to talk to her?"

"We can’t stay like this, right? We don’t have water or food."

"…"

"Would you rather rely on the group? Or how about depending on someone who went into town alone?"

"…Is there such a person?"

"Yeah, the group didn’t notice, but I have good eyes."

"…Give me a moment to think."

By the time Naga finished thinking, the girl had returned to town, so we couldn’t talk to her. The next day, we found her again and approached her. She was a good person, and I was worried about her.

She seemed to understand our situation and couldn’t abandon us. She prepared meals for us, lent us money, and even provided clothes and weapons. We ended up owing her a lot.

Following her advice, I obtained skills, entered the town, changed my weapons, and went to the adventurer’s guild in a more fitting attire.

"Hey, kid. Working hard this late?"

"Who are you calling a kid?"

When I entered the adventurer’s guild, someone suddenly tapped me on the shoulder and called me a kid. I grabbed the hand and glared at the drunk man.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. I thought you were Crein. My bad."

"Do you know Crein?"

"Thanks to the kid, my work was easier. Do you know him?"

"…He’s my sister."

The drunk man seemed to be an acquaintance of Crein. I admit we look alike, but our heights are very different. I’m not that short.

"Got it. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll do what I can to help."

"Hey, don’t push the newbies. That’s enough. Hey, you’re late."

"Old man."

"Leo, thanks for the help. Ah, tell the kid thanks for me."

"Here, you two, this way."

The drunk man left, and the man who was near me during the status check led Naga and me to a back room. We were supposed to register at the reception, but something seemed off.

"Do you have the money?"

"I borrowed it from my sister."

"Ha, got it. Here’s your adventurer card. Just drop some blood on it to register. What about you?"

"……"

I know we’re not real siblings, but it seems he’s intentionally asking about our relationship. The man seems trustworthy, but I wasn’t told about dropping blood on the card. We were supposed to have our skills checked.

"Don’t worry, I won’t eat you. Just register quickly."

"I was told we need to have our skills checked."

"We can see you can fight without checking. It’s not necessary."

"We don’t know what this is. If we do as told and our status is taken, it’s meaningless."

"I see. Here’s my adventurer registration card. The material is different, but it’s the same. Drop blood on it, and your rank and name will appear. Then, give the card to a guild staff member to record quests and completions. It also records monster kills and quest details. However, personal status is not registered. Also, status display requires an artifact, which is valuable and can’t be shown, but I assure you no information will be extracted here."

"So, it’s just registration?"

"Yep. As long as you pay and have combat skills, anyone can register. But you need some explanations. That’s why I called you here."

Various explanations, huh. Information is necessary, and it would be a waste to refuse.

"……Why?"

"Hmm? First, the explanation is about your current situation. Crein’s brother and…"

"We’re childhood friends."

"Got it. If you claim to be Crein’s brother and childhood friend, things will be different, and I can’t share this with others."

"……"

"Crein has a contract with the guild leader and a certain mage. By that contract, he’s protected. If you’re related, you can also be protected, but we need to explain this properly."

"Wow, unexpected. We’re included too?"

Crein seemed to take the contract seriously. It seemed more twisted, but they genuinely want to protect him. This man, who isn’t part of the contract, might not know everything, but it’s not bad to be included.

"Well, the higher-ups have their reasons… Crein isn’t a foreigner, and foreigners don’t have siblings… So, claiming to be siblings and lookalikes is helpful. Childhood friends too."

"Hmm. Better treatment than I expected. The adventurer was friendly."

"Yeah, he did a good job, so he’s highly regarded. He was also helpful with guild quests. Moving on, you’re not foreigners either. Here’s a map. There’s a small village nearby. You can say you’re from there and lived in the forest nearby."

"What? That’s specific. Is there something there?"

"I know someone who lived there. The woman is dead, so you can say you’re her child, and the villagers won’t know."

"Hmm. I don’t understand, but let’s go with that."

They even thought about our background… Crein must be valuable.

We don’t understand their standards. They value Crein more than dozens of foreigners. They even consider protecting us as his relatives.

He’s more valuable than we thought.

"Here, show me your weapons. They’ll be noticed. Use the ones we prepared."

"Ah, these?"

"……How did you get an attribute weapon? If you’re a thief or criminal…"

"…Crein enchanted them."

"Ah, your sister worked hard for us."

"……Hmm……I need to talk to her more. But if that’s the case, it’s fine. You came to this town to become adventurers, got it?"

"Yeah, but… Crein wanted to be a pharmacist and left the village. We chased after her to persuade her to stay, and we became adventurers to live here."

We need a reason for coming separately. It’s believable if we chased after her within a week. Plus, it’s more interesting to do things our way.

"Got it. It’s more convincing if you came later."

"What about the people who know us?"

"We’ll consider it. The higher-ups don’t want to let the foreigners roam free. Thinking about it now might be pointless. Let me know if there are issues, and we’ll handle it."

"What about Crein?"

"He’s free to do as he pleases. He’s skilled and smart, so he’ll manage."

"What about us?"

"As long as you’re friendly with Crein, you’ll be left alone. Be good siblings."

"Got it. We’ll go with that."

After the conversation, as I was leaving, he told me to come alone tomorrow, so I nodded.

---

I looked at Crein, who was sleeping soundly.

I didn’t tell Crein, but they intended to protect Naga and me through a contract. I could have relieved her of that burden, but I want us to have a sense of solidarity.

It might be a bit manipulative, but if she’s mentally unstable, she’ll rely on us more, making it harder for others to interfere.

It’s a brother’s duty to take care of his sister. I’m a bit worried, but if I stand up for her as a brother, I won’t be suspected.

Well, I’m a guy too.

Next time, I’ll have to insist on separate sleeping arrangements, or I won’t be able to sleep properly.