nChapter 120: Fake Brother

nTranslator: imperfectluck Editor: vb24

nWhen Seiji regained his senses, he discovered that Shika was in his embrace.

n‘I actually did such a thing!?’

nHe was shocked at his own actions.

nHe discovered that he was more worried about her than he had previously believed.

nOnce again, he thought back to those… innocent dying words of hers.

nAs she lay there dying, she never complained about any of the difficulties that she faced.

nShe had plenty of right to complain or to hate this unreasonably cruel world.

nBut she didn’t.

nShe only smiled.

nAt him… saying farewell to her only friend in the world.

nLike this… for such a girl… such a death… How could he possibly accept it!?

nSeiji was unable to accept it.

nThat was why he was unable to… control himself when he saw her alive and well in front of him again.

nHe went up to her, kneeled, and hugged her.

nShe must be confused at this situation.

nPerhaps… he would be pushed away by her.

nSeiji laughed wryly at himself in his heart.

nHowever, he didn’t let go.

n‘This is wonderful.’

nHe had wanted to say that she was fine… but he changed it in the end to

"you came.

"

nYou came, you’re safe, and you’re here. How wonderful…

nSeiji was attempting to transmit his emotions.

nAt the same time, he also mentally prepared himself for him to be shoved aside.

nInstead…

nNo fist, foot, or any type of beating awaited him.

nShika Kagura didn’t resist at all.

nRather, she also reached out and hugged him!

n

"Older brother…

"

nOlder brother?

nSeiji paused in surprise at hearing her call him this.

n

"My older brother’s… coming for me…

" Those were the words she spoke last as she died during the last iteration.

nHer

"older brother…

" Seiji assumed this older brother was once a truly important figure in her life, but he’d already passed away.

nWas she mistaking me for her older brother?

n‘Are her injuries that serious?’ Seiji’s heart skipped a beat as he imagined it.

nNo, that wasn’t it! When she came down from the sky, she could still stand… and now she was still kneeling on one knee! It meant that she still had some energy!

nIt was just… perhaps she received some type of impact, and she temporarily… wasn’t in full possession of her faculties… something like this.

n‘Yes, that must be it. That was why she didn’t push me away. I’ve become someone else in her eyes.’

nSeiji was certain of this.

n

"Older brother… Older brother…

" A soft and gentle voice was calling to him.

nSeiji blinked.

n

"Yep… your older brother… is right here.

"

nHe decided to pretend to be her older brother.

nEven if this was only a temporary fantasy, he decided to allow this girl to feel a sense of familial warmth, however brief.

nShe… must have not felt it for such a long time already.

n

"It’s okay. Everything will be fine. Your older brother… has always been by your side and will always accompany you. You… are not alone.

"

nSeiji hugged her while speaking in the gentlest deep voice he possibly could.

nHe wished that his words would console her lonely heart at least a little.

n

"Older brother… Wahh…. Older brother… Wahh…

"

nShe began to sob lightly.

n

"Wahh… Ahh…. Ahhhh!

"

nHer crying began to increase in intensity.

nAfter a while, Shika Kagura was weeping in her loudest possible voice as she clung on to the warm, strong body in front of her.

nThis was crying that came from her soul.

nHer older brother was here.

nHer older brother had found her.

nHer older brother would always accompany her.

nShe… was no longer by herself…

nA huge warm feeling seemed to envelop her entire world and fill her heart.

nIt squeezed out the iciness, loneliness, and her original distant attitude.

nIt turned into unstoppable crying.

nIt turned into a never-ending flow of tears.

n‘Just what type of crying is this?’

nSeiji trembled as he listened to her crying.

nIt seemed like her crying was venting all her cold, dark feelings… Just how deep did they run…

nWas she always shouldering such a burden?

nBy herself.

nOn her own.

nIn calmness.

nShe suppressed her feelings… and treated it as normal.

nSeiji felt terrible just thinking about it.

nThe only thing he could do for her right now was hug her tightly and accept her crying.

nEven if… he was only temporarily her fake brother.

nRain continued to pour down from the sky.

nTears continued to pour down the girl’s cheeks.

nColdness.

nWarmth.

nEverything dissolved together.

n…

nThe crying continued for a long period of time, before it finally came to a slow halt.

nShika’s hands also slowly fell downward from where she had been holding on to Seiji.

nSeiji became nervous at this situation.

nHe hurriedly let go of her and inspected her face.

nShika’s eyes were closed, and she was silent. Despite her pallid complexion, it was clear that she was still alive.

n

"Relax… she merely fell unconscious.

"

nSomeone spoke up behind him.

nSeiji turned around to see who it was.

nHe saw the red-haired girl standing there.

n

"Shuho-san…

"

nHitaka Shuho had basically the same appearance as last time.

nThe difference was that veins weren’t bulging from her face, and her eyes were golden and calm. Nor was she wielding a weapon at the moment.

nShe hadn’t gone crazy or lost control of herself.

n

"I learned from Milady… everything is thanks to your help, Harano… Haruta-kun.

" She walked towards Seiji as she spoke.

"It was your inference that avoided… something disastrous from occurring.

"

nThe red-haired girl’s voice contained a sliver of fear.

nThanks to Seiji’s warning to the president, she had held back when fighting. President Yoruhana also acted swiftly and went through the procedure to remove the ‘Reaper’s Curse’ student from her status as a student, temporarily expelling her so that she was no longer a

"Genhana student.

" This way Hitaka wouldn’t feel any repercussions from the spell formation for having raised her hand against a student that she was supposed to have been protecting, which would inflict the ‘Reaper’s Curse’ upon the entire school’s population and spell formation.

nThat’s why, even though she… even though Hitaka Shuho would probably still have some calamity befall her due to having fought with and injuring the ‘Reaper’s Curse,’ it was a much better situation than falling for the enemy’s trap and having things turn into the worst-case scenario.

n

"Shika Kagura… just as you believed, she was the enemy’s Spirit-branded Retainer, and the spirit she fused with was also Snow Girl. But she wasn’t the Snow Girl who carried out all the dirty work for the enemy. Milady confirmed that already; Shika was definitely still at school when the enemy Snow Girl was active.

"

n

"That’s why… we had a blind spot.

n

"We already eliminated Shika Kagura from our list of suspects, so we never expected her to be a Spirit-branded Retainer, not to mention a second Snow Girl!

"

nHitaka sighed.

n

"Milady… and I, we both fell for the enemy’s trap… If it weren’t for you, I’m afraid that…

"

nHitaka lowered her head.

nShe lifted it back up quickly again.

nThen she lowered her head again… this time in a bow.

n

"Thank you so much, Haruta-kun.

"

n‘I owe you my life,’ she whispered to herself in her mind.

nSeiji smiled at Hitaka.

n

"No need to be so polite, Shuho-san. I’m so happy… that you’re safe.

"

nA strange light flashed in Hitaka’s eyes as she slowly lifted her head and straightened her stance once more as she listened to Seiji’s sincere words.

nShe walked up to him and made a mysterious gesture with her hand. After forming some type of

"seal,

" she uttered an incantation.

nSeiji instantly felt a warm feeling wash over him as the chill from the rainwater disappeared.

nHis wet clothes quickly became dry… Shika’s clothes were the same as well.

n

"Thank you.

"

n

"There’s no need for thanks.

"

nHe exchanged glances with Hitaka, and both of them remained silent for a while.

nHitaka shifted her gaze to Shika.

n

"You… seem to place a great deal of importance on her.

"

n

"Yeah… I’m surprised at it myself,

" Seiji answered honestly.

n

"You and her… you don’t know each other very well, right?

"

n

"That’s right. This is just my third time meeting her. We’ve barely even talked.

"

n

"Then… just why?

" The red-haired girl seemed slightly perplexed.

n

"I don’t know either!

" Seiji forced himself to inject spirit into his voice.

"But that’s just how it is… I feel it’s rather strange as well, but that’s just how things are, as you can see for yourself!

"

nHitaka found no words to respond to this.

n

"If I had to come up with some forceful reason, it would be… I think that Shika is a nice girl. She shouldn’t… be like the way she is…

" Seeing the vacant expression on Hitaka’s face, Seiji tried his best to justify himself.

n

"Oh…

" Hitaka still couldn’t comprehend Seiji’s actions.

nBut there was a strange feeling inside her chest.

nHow to describe this feeling? Hmm…

nShe tilted her head slightly as she considered it, and she had a sudden flash of inspiration as she found the word she believed she was looking for.

nThis word perfectly described a boy who had underhanded motives for showing an abnormal level of affection towards a beautiful girl that he hadn’t known for all that long—

n

"Pervert.

"

nSeiji was rendered speechless by this.

n