Chapter 47

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"Stop it!"

Luna's voice was cut off by Mina's anguished scream.

"...Alright. I didn't plan on dealing with such an old man for long anyway. Let's go back."

"...I don't want to go back to that place."

"Yeah, I know. It's a place that makes me want to vomit, but if it means we can be together, I can endure it."

Luna's face twisted in disgust, as if the place Mina referred to was somewhere she didn't want to return to either.

"Then there's no need to go back."

"Huh? What are you saying, old man?"

"I don't know where you came from or why Mina ran away, but if you don't want to go back, you don't have to. Come and live with me."

"...Ryota."

"Luna, right? If you're Mina's sister, come and live with me."

This was Ryota's true intention.

He didn't know where Mina had been before meeting him.

He was surprised to learn she had a sister.

But there was no need to return to a place so terrible that she had to run away.

"Annoying! Super annoying!"

Luna waved her hand, her face contorted with frustration.

The next moment, pain and heat surged in Ryota's thigh.

"---Huh?"

Looking down, he saw a knife embedded in his leg, blood flowing from the wound.

"---Gah!?"

As he realized what had happened, the intense pain hit him.

More shocked than in pain, he fell to his knees.

"Ryota!?"

"It's because the old man said something stupid, I just got irritated, that's all."

"Stop it, big sister. Please, stop."

(...This is bad... This girl is stronger than me. No, I'm not good at fighting, but that's not the issue.)

Ryota couldn't see Luna's movements.

That meant the skill gap was significant.

More than the pain, Ryota was at a loss about how to deal with the brown-skinned girl.

*

"The old man with the smell of age will be quiet for a while, so let's talk about the sisters. I won't say it again. Let's go back."

"No."

"...You left me behind, ran away from the organization, and now you like this old man so much?"

"It's not like that. I ran away because I didn't want you to be forced into doing bad things because of me."

"...Hmm. Did you think I would understand? If you were going to run, you should have run with me. You abandoned me! To protect you, I had to become a killer, and you left me behind to run away on your own!"

"That's not true!"

Mina understood that her sister was angry.

But she had never abandoned her sister.

Mina and Luna, born as daughters of a certain noble, were sold to an underground organization when their family fell into financial difficulties.

Mina had a gift called "Blessing," which enhanced the abilities of a specific person.

It wasn't a significant power.

It only slightly improved existing abilities.

If the person didn't have any inherent power, Mina's gift was useless.

It could barely increase a power of ten to eleven or twelve, and "Blessing" wasn't visibly noticeable.

However, it seemed to have the effect of awakening latent abilities in the recipient, and the organization tried to use Mina to create "Awakened Ones."

But since Mina couldn't consciously use her power, the plan failed.

Still, as a rare existence, she remained a caged bird, never released.

When Mina became useless, she was used as a tool to exploit Luna.

Luna, with a mother from the desert, had exceptional physical abilities and was skilled with knives.

The organization shifted its interest from the useless Mina to the more useful Luna.

Using her sister as leverage, they trained Luna to be an assassin.

Luna started doing assassinations she didn't want to do to protect her sister.

Unable to bear seeing her sister do bad things because of her, Mina tried to seek help and ran away from the organization.

And then she met Ryota.

To be honest, Ryota scared her at first.

She was wary of him, thinking he might use her like the other adults.

But he was different.

He was just a kind person.

She felt at ease.

She wanted to stay with such a person forever.

Maybe he could help her sister.

She harbored such hopes.

---But how could she say it?

She was unsure about her own "Blessing" and worried that if she told him, he might change.

She knew it was unlikely, but she had seen too many greedy adults and was afraid.

More importantly, she didn't think the kind and warm Ryota could save her sister from the violent world.

She didn't want to drag him into it.

However, she never forgot about her sister.

She believed that no matter how long it took, she would find someone to help her.

But her sister came to take her back before she could.

That's all it was.

"If you didn't abandon me, let's go back. In the worst case, I'm supposed to kill you. But I can't kill Mina, and I don't want to."

But, Luna played with her knife and looked at Ryota.

"I can kill this old man instead, you know?"

"---No, I won't let you!"

"What's so good about this old man you've only been with for a short time? Maybe he just doesn't want to let you go because he knows about your power? Even if it was different before, you might just be used from now on. Do you still want to be with him?"

"I want to be with Ryota!"

"Hmm... I was worried about you being weak-willed, but this is a bit troublesome... I've decided. I'll just kill this old man."

Luna gave up on continuing the conversation with her sister.

Ryota's existence was making her sister stubborn.

If she eliminated him, it would be simple.

She threw four knives at the middle-aged adventurer, who was still kneeling on the ground.

Quickly, accurately, and solely to kill.

Luna's heart was cold.

The girl, who had repeatedly killed unwillingly for her sister, had no emotions appropriate for her age.

As a small act of kindness, she infused her gratitude for the good he had done for her sister, ensuring he would die without suffering.

---But,

"---Storage."

Ryota's short command was issued, and the knives disappeared.