PHASE 41 - BABY BROTHER MARK 2

Our everyday lives became a lot more natural as time goes on. Tiara is finally able to practice well with the Idol Club, without any thoughts disturbing her.

On the other hand, Amy finally finished all and every paperwork, conferences, and crappy government processes for the Aether Crusade Investigation Team. That’s why she’s no longer skipping classes like before, and we had a lot more time to talk about our job.

I’m getting serious with it because we are tracking the organized group of Cursed Guardians; the New Order. And apparently, Diadem performs a huge part in this organization. Also, I’m getting some compensation for this. It’s hitting two birds in one stone.

I told Amy all the details of the next sign of my . It was Helena’s death, in the hands of a Cursed Guardian named Void Wolf. After internalizing for a long time, my childhood friend thought of a brilliant idea that even I was amazed.

<>

“So… What are you two plotting?” Helena’s left eyebrow jerked. We just disturbed Helena from cooking our meal. She invited us for dinner, and now we’re helping her prepare the dishes.

I don’t really see Helena as a woman, but she has a really good intuition.

“Ric’s says that you will be the next one to die, so we thought of a plan to stay with you under the same roof. In this way, we can watch and protect you~” Amy reasoned out, but she’s sweating. She’s a bad liar.

“Somebody is telling me that it’s not your only reason.” Helena made a skeptical face to us.

“Amy was cutting her fare expenses and the long travel from her home is a hassle, so she wanted to have a free lodging house,” I said.

“Hey, don’t put all the blame in me!” Amy yelled. “You also wanted that idea, that’s why you came here!”

Helena held her forehead and sighed. Then she turned away and continued to cook. But she still had her attention to us. “Fine, you guys can stay here as long as you want, but on one condition. You guys have to do some household chores since my baby boy and a baby girl doesn’t know a thing.”

“I’m not a baby boy!” That was a loud voice from the living room. That Heushac really has good ears. Anyway, he’s just a background voice so ignore him.

“Roger that!” Amy pumped her fists. Then she turned to me and made a high-ten to each other.

Having a free lodging house near the school? Mission accomplished!

Actually, there is another reason why we will be staying here. Since we know that Helena will be the next target, she will be a mandatory bait for us to get some Cursed Guardians on our fishing hooks. We don’t want Helena to hear that from us, but this is the only way to get more information about the New Order.

There are still a lot of blanks to be filled before we resolve this case. I just hope that this is somehow related to Diadem so that I can slit that guy’s throat.

Amy prepared the plates in the dining room, leaving only Helena and me in this silent kitchen. I noticed that she’s elbowing me on the stomach. When I turned to her, I noticed that she have this blushing cheeks, and she’s somewhat avoiding eye contact with me.

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“Umm… How do I say this?…” Helena looks so cute right now. This is the first time I’ve seen her in a gap moe situation. “...I-I’m sorry for blaming you last time. I know you did your best and saved my baby brother, so… It’s so rude of me to get angry at you. I should be grateful instead…. So…. Thank you…”

I was so awed. I was caught off guard by Helena breaking her character. I find it adorable, and that makes me a lot more motivated to protect her.

“Y-You’re welcome. I-I’m sorry if I didn’t warn you about my too.” Darn it Alaric, why are you returning a blush!

“You know, I quite like you!” Helena made a teehee face.

“E-Eh?” I was soooo dumbstruck.

“W-Wait! D-Don’t drop a rejection bomb on me! I-I only mean, I quite have this brotherly love feeling towards you! It’s like you’re my Baby Brother 2.0, which is more dependable than my real baby brother.”

“That’s flattering. Heushac would kill me if he hears that…” I said.

Actually, I kind of feel the same. I always look up at Helena as an independent big sister who can always be on my side. She’s a little bit manlier than me, and she’s so cool when she wields her sword.

I got so disappointed and furious when she accused me last time. But she was right. If only I told them my , we should have been prepared for that night. Suppose Helena was there, then the damage should’ve been mitigated. Now I feel a lot more guilty.

I think I have to help her out in this kitchen, so I have to shift to another mood. “Shall I slice the onions for you?”

“Of course!” Helena happily stuck her tongue out.

I made a silent oath to myself that I will use my to prevent any more incoming deaths. I will do everything to change her fate.

<>

We had our special dinner with sizzling chicken rolls coated with hot gravy. Inside the delicious and tender chicken meat are thick sticks of cheese and tasty organic ham. Because of this, we had our mouths watering and our stomachs full of this delicious dish.

Helena’s specialty is sizzling dishes, and no one can top her on that. What a motherly tomboy she is.

We just finished washing the dishes when Tiara stood up and bowed to Helena. She’s planning to go home in her condo unit this late at night.

“T-Thanks for the delicious supper, Miss Helena! Your chicken rolls are delicious!”

“Mmm!” Helena nodded. “You can drop by to taste my dishes anytime.”

“Seriously, don’t.” I butted in. “Nothing will be left for us if you let Tiara taste everything.”

Tiara glared angrily at me. I just made a forced smile and scratched my head. Helena chuckled, but then she continued the conversation. “Are you sure you’re not staying here tonight?”

Tiara shook her head with a smile. “I still have something to take care of. I’ll sleep with the whole investigation team soon.” She said. And then she bowed and took her to leave.

Suddenly, Helena has been glaring at me. She’s telling me with her eyes that I should act like a gentleman and escort the maiden back to her home.

“Why? Tiara’s a lot stronger than me! She doesn’t need an escort!” I said to her.

But she still had this disgusted glare, saying that I still have to. So I finally give up. “Fine,” I said.

I rushed away from the house and caught up to Tiara.

<>

We were halfway to her condo. The sidewalk is so dark but thanks to the streetlamps, it made it a lot less scary. Plus, Tiara has been humming her newest song, She probably had this last song syndrome because of her rehearsals with her club. And I… I was just awfully silent. I can’t think of any topic at all. Besides, I don’t want to interrupt her. I’m enjoying her soothing voice.

Suddenly, she made an overtake and went in front of me, which gave me a mini heart attack. She stared at me with her adorable brown eyes. Her face was so close that I can see the cross sigil on her irises. She has this teasing smile with a blushing face.

“W-What’s with that puppy-eyed glare?” I muttered.

“U-Umm Rikkun?” She’s back to her stuttering persona. “D-Do you still have those feelings for Nette-Senpai? I-I-I’m just asking… ”

“O-Of course not! My feelings for her died a long time ago.” I coldly commented. “She lied to me, and drove me away.”

“B-But Nette-Senpai has a reason, right?” Tiara said. “I feel that Mister Kristoff was right. Nette-Senpai is in love with you, though she’s just denying it. Just a typical tsundere hehehe~”

“Then I’ll reject her, just like what I normally do,” I said. “Don’t go punchin my nose though!”

“Ahaha…” Tiara scratched her cheek. “T-That’s a hard thing to do.”

Silence engulfed the surroundings once more, but it didn’t take that long. We both realized that we are already in front of the condominium.

“Thank you for escorting me, Rikkun! You’re such a gentleman! Take care~”

“Yeah. Good night.” I waved back with a smile.

“Good night!” She jollily smiled. But when she turned around, she refused to take a step further. It’s as if she still wanted to say something but she can’t.

It was a five-second silence. I was about to ask what’s wrong but then, she looked at me with her eyes soaked with tears.

“...Rikkun… If my fate is to become hurt, I would happily embrace it. I don’t have any regrets in this life. My heart is already full of colorful memories with you, so… If I happen to become the enemy… Please don’t hesitate to kill me.”