"IF I SAY I'M NOT PROTECTING HER, THEN I'M NOT PROTECTING HER!!!"
Regardless of her brother and whatever purpose he had for entering her room, Mika, the young Rokka Ruka had told her about, walked out, full of anger.
The older brother, "......"
The person who had been watching them all along finally revealed himself.
"You stepped on a mine, Nii-san..."
That person walked into the room [https://img.wattpad.com/e66fc9480f9226907fd89a85786043830b437382/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4a72586669796e6461426f5759773d3d2d3239392e313738313435383363393432356563313131343932363933333833352e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
That person walked into the room.
"You know, Micchan has been sensitive about Yuka since that day. Why are you bringing her up?"
The older brother just glanced at the person while standing still in his place.
"Ha~ahh... I know."
"But that was 52 years ago, you know. Why hasn't she let it go yet?" said the older brother tiredly.
That person, his younger brother, patted him gently on the back.
"Be patient."
"Didn't we promise?"
"......."
The older brother clenched his fists. He thought back to that day. The day when his youngest sister, returned after decades of riding the Tower.
".... You were right..."
Mika, the younger sister he knew was a sweet girl with a carefree and gentle personality who was a bit whiny. That's why he was worried when his sister and his sister's best friend Yuka decided to leave the village and climb the Tower. He was afraid that his sister would get hurt, considering the Tower was a dangerous place.
But contrary to his worries, both girls were able to survive in the Tower well and became famous Rokka who were often sought after by the Conqueror. Neither of them were affiliated with any organization. Only with a small party of 14 people, they climbed the Tower together from the Tutorial Zone to the 30th floor. Thanks to their good teamwork and the detailed information they both had access to, the party grew large enough that they decided to build a small Guild.
Everything was going well up until that point. But unknown to what exactly happened, the Guild disintegrated a few months after it was formed. Mika returned to Rokka Village in a state of severe trauma and shock. Her soul seemed to be separated from her body. For a while, Mika lived like a mindless doll. Just silent with an emotionless blank stare and her previous carefree smile. Of course, this made Mika's older brother very worried. They kept asking her what happened to their sister, but instead of answering, Mika became hysterical when the memory came back to her.
Because of this, Mika's two older brothers, Raka and Youka gave up asking Mika and tried to find out what happened themselves.
The result was a big failure.
The information about the Guild was completely shut down by an entity from the Tower database. It was obvious that the only one who could do that besides the admin was Rokka. In other words, what happened to Mika, Yuka and their guild was related to another Rokka. A Rokka powerful enough to block another Rokka's access to information. Of course, that Rokka included Ranker.
Faced with a dead end, Raka and Youka could not find out more about Mika's past. The only thing they could do was protect Mika from the remnants of her fame and help her to be cheerful again. Whatever they tried to do. As long as Mika was more alive than before, it didn't matter what she wanted to distract her mind with.
Although... They didn't expect the effect to turn their cheerful and friendly sister into a reclusive neet who was somewhat agoraphobic.
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****OOO****
Character Information
Name: Naeva WintermNova: X PlatinumRace: Ice PrincessAge: 30 [https://img.wattpad.com/c66073bd210caef63506d1650e650a39782e1cab/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6969583048486b4a2d67482d59513d3d2d313337393432323731312e313739656230333835636562373261663634353735303037343036372e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Naeva Winterm
Nova: X Platinum
Race: Ice Princess
Age: 30.000+
Status: Irregular
Affiliation: None
-------------------------------------------------
Name: RukaNova: II RedRace: RokkaAge: UnknownStatus: UnknownAffiliation: Unknown [https://img.wattpad.com/e0b523c9a4d466aaecf69db54bc6daafca192807/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f64674753795a655f7773676b70413d3d2d313337393432323731312e313739656230333535363337666331383832303039323230323030392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Ruka
Nova: II Red
Race: Rokka
Age: Unknown
Status: Unknown
Affiliation: Unknown
****OOO****
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Rokka Village Entrance
"There. We just need to go this way, then the road goes straight through to Rokka Village," Ruka pointed towards a large cave not far from where they were standing.
We just need to go this way, then the road goes straight through to Rokka Village," Ruka pointed towards a large cave not far from where they were standing [https://img.wattpad.com/5c879196e6e2588088aea59f8a0e49fed327960c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6e49734e417a43335545794169513d3d2d3239392e313738313435396136303663393430643636373035353833333431352e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Naeva closed her eyes, she tried to sense Nova's flow in the air to detect the cave.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"........"
Once she got the information she wanted, she reopened her eyes.
"It can't be that easy, right? The cave is a dead end."
"Heeh... Even though I haven't entered yet, I was immediately caught, huh..." marveled Ruka.
The boy smiled calmly, "That's right. The cave is a dead end."
"I told you before, Nee-san. No non-Rokka can enter there without permission. That cave is a teleportation point to Rokka village. But the point can only be activated from the village, so no one can just activate it from outside."
Ruka floated (on a pillow) there first.
"Rokka can share information through the database. I told I'm going home today, so the Village people will teleport us when we get in. Come on, Nee-san..."
Naeva smiled slightly as she walked away, following Ruka.
"Alright."
The two entered the cave in question. Just as Naeva said, the cave was a dead end. However, there was an altar hidden by a complicated mechanism at the end of the cave. After Ruka brought up the altar, the two stood on the rectangular pedestal near the altar. Ruka had contacted the villagers with his database. Now there was nothing else they could do. The rest, they just had to wait.
Luckily, the villagers were quick to act. It didn't take long for the two of them to be teleported to Rokka's village, which was far away on 5th Floor.
It didn't take long for the two of them to be teleported to Rokka's village, which was far away on 5th Floor [https://img.wattpad.com/31273d86cb46daf4fdfad4b840faf223b7135018/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f686f425a6c61636b4770416c6e673d3d2d3239392e313738313435613137333462383963393836343530363931363537332e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
image [https://img.wattpad.com/6371b5b5d8dffea0bd33b4b396427fed9e60fac2/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4f316f5577416837696a497a75513d3d2d3239392e313738313435613333393034633534343132373436373535323638372e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"Here we are, Nee-san [https://img.wattpad.com/eb9fe4e941c43e154bef515d23e2dd261b6970b0/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f3930447634784a4d442d706a5f673d3d2d3239392e313738313435613433303263363434383730393536333533303634302e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"Here we are, Nee-san. Welcome to Rokka Village..." greeted Ruka happily, having returned home safely.
"........"
Naeva couldn't find the right words to describe her feelings right now... She was amazed and confused at the same time.
"This... Village???"
Is this still on the same floor as all that ravine floor land!?
Realizing Naeva was confused, Ruka answered before being asked.
"Nee-san, do you know the reason why Rokka Village is hard to reach if you don't go through the altar?"
"Why?" asked Naeva.
Ruka pointed down.
"This place, our village, is on the surface."
Naeva, "?"
This time Ruka pointed upwards.
"Earlier we were at the bottom of the ravine. Now we're above it."
"!?"
Congratulations Ruka, you managed to make Naeva quite shocked. Turns out there's a place above the 5th floor of the ravine!? Isn't one floor itself at the bottom of the ravine!!?
No, no, think calmly Naeva. If there's a bottom, there must be an upper end.... But doesn't the 5th Floor have a height limit? Do you remember the Labyrinth used in the 3rd Floor gamble? Like that Labyrinth, the 5th Floor is limited by a certain height, so if it flies too high, there will be a shock barrier preventing it. So how could the Rokka build a settlement above the 5th Floor abyss?
Naeva was busy with her own thoughts. Trying to think of plausible reasons why this could happen. But she was at an impasse, it should be impossible for the Conqueror to settle above the 5th Floor abyss. It was against Tower rules. So how...
"The first Rokka Village Chief who brought people to live here, made a deal with the Floor Admin."
Ruka easily answered all of Naeva's confusion.
"Nee-san see that tall building over there?"
"That place is practically a symbol of the agreement between the first Rokka Chief and the 5th Floor Admin [https://img.wattpad.com/209f8028be133f7f4bf8240f5b861771de841c9b/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f556131494755484a73697a6471413d3d2d313337393432323731312e313738313439316662316330316235393133323531313037363732322e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"That place is practically a symbol of the agreement between the first Rokka Chief and the 5th Floor Admin. It contains... let's call it the Rokka Village information database."
"That's possible, huh..." Naeva thought to herself.
"The content of the agreement is simple. The Village Chief requested that the Admin allow the Rokkas to live above the ravine as a form of exemption. In exchange, he and the rest of the Rokka swore not to access the highest-level documents in the database even if they could. The documents referred to here were information related to the Tower's management structure, the data of the admins, examiners and guardians, and the data of the Irregulars. That's why none of that information has spread in the Conqueror."
"Hoamm... And because of that, we Rokka can live safely here."
Naeva understood Ruka's explanation. It's just that--
"Why are you telling me about that? Isn't that confidential information?"
Ruka didn't think much of it.
"I'm still Nee-san's personal Rokka now. I should at least explain this."
"A Rokka who becomes a personal Rokka must have a keen observation to see if their master is a trustworthy person or not. Naeva Nee-san is not that keen of a person to do anything that is troublesome and has nothing to gain, so it's fine," Ruka replied casually.
Naeva smiled slightly. That boy was right. He has a good eye for judging others.
TAP TAP TAP TAP
"RUUUUUKAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"
A little girl sped up to Ruka and hugged him immediately.
"RUUUUUKAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"A little girl sped up to Ruka and hugged him immediately [https://img.wattpad.com/62c25068ffab225de0e9541aaae0740c86fd7553/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f55576752785f57636754494947673d3d2d313337393432323731312e313738313439336137383831363936323635333730343537393238372e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"Ruka! Ruka! Ruka!!! You're home!!!"
"Moka!?" startled Ruka.
"Wa-Wait Mocchan... Your running... Too... Hurry up..." said another child who followed behind her.
" said another child who followed behind her [https://img.wattpad.com/be57ea74423fa4a460e9658bb69e4881dd4629ed/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4369493341516f37486a366e56673d3d2d313337393432323731312e313738313439343139323062663062643137353334333538313034382e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"Mou... You're the one who's too slow, Sacchan!" taunted the little girl who was hugging Ruka.
"Ngnhh! No! Mocchan's the one who's too fast! I too... I also ran away when papa said Ruka Nii-san was coming home!" he pouted while hugging Ruka.
Ruka was silent for a moment, "Moka... Saka... You guys..."
The two children looked at him with a twinkle in their eyes.
"You guys... don't go to school?" Ruka asked, slapping them with a question.
"S-School's over already! It's already home! Right, Sacchan?" The little girl he called Moka avoided Ruka's gaze and tried to evade.
"Huh? But didn't we go out during recess?" puzzled the boy named Saka.
"!!"
Moka felt betrayed, especially when Ruka gave her a sharp look.
"Sacchan no baka!!!!!" Moka screamed.
"Nande!?" confused Saka.
Ruka sighed heavily. It had been so long since they had seen each other, but the behavior of the two of them had not changed at all.
"You guys are resting, right? Hurry back there."
"B-But Ruka's finally home! I want to be with Ruka!!!" Moka replied unhappily.
"Moka, you can meet me when I get home. Now, go back to school first."
"But--"
"Want me to tell Lunka Obaa-san?" smiled Ruka.
"!"
Moka and Saka gasped in surprise. They immediately broke their embrace and walked backwards.
"Sacchan, class is about to start soon, right? Oh my... Sorry, Ruka... We can't stay with you for long. W-We're good kids who won't skip class," Moka stammered.
"Um... Anu... Nii-san... We... Going back first... I'll see you at home later..."
Saka followed Moka back towards the school.
"Bye Rukaa!!!"
"See you soon, Ruka Nii-san."
Ruka watched the two until they were no longer visible in his eyes.
"Haaahh..."
"!"
As soon as he realized all the things Naeva was watching, Ruka immediately explained to her.
"Ah, sorry, Naeva Nee-san. They're both my cousins," Ruka explained.
"I'm sorry if they were noisy and disturbing."
Far from the first time he met Naeva, Ruka became more polite and reluctant. This must be the effect of him seeing firsthand how much more powerful Naeva was than he expected. He was probably a little afraid that someone as powerful as Naeva would become an enemy of the Rokka.
Well, although Naeva herself didn't think anything of it. Instead, she enjoyed the spectacle.
"It's okay. Children... are supposed to be like that," Naeva smiled faintly as she walked ahead of Ruka.
True, children should be cheerful and full of energy like them.
Instead of being aggressive, dark and gloomy because of the environment that forced them to be like that if they wanted to survive.