"Hey, Kakeru, what are you waiting for?! Climb up here quickly, you too, Luna!"

I yelled as I looked down at the two. I was standing on the very top, while waiting for the two to climb up to me.

"Please, give me a break, sis." Kakeru grumbled. "What are we even doing here, climbing some boulder? We are not kids you know?"

Kakeru that stupid brother of mine started complaining again. Seriously, sometimes I think that he only knows how to complain. As his older sister, it makes me really worried about his future. He's going to be a terrible husband and father someday!

"It's really hard, isn't it~?" Luna also complained with a pouty face. But I guess she has no choice but to follow along.

"Don't talk back to your elders, Kakeru! Come on Luna, you too. Climb up, climb up! Let's hurry up!" I said as I gave them a mental push. "Besides, it's not just some rock or boulder, you know? It's the so called: Devil's Stone. The chort himself brought it here!"

I pointed at them as I exclaimed with pride.

'How about this, huh? You didn't expect it, huh? Hehehe.'

The two looked at each other, then turned their gaze towards me in confusion.

"What is it? What do you mean by that?" Kakeru asked as he looked at me questioningly.

"Who is this chort person? I've never heard of him before... he sounds kind of suspicious." Luna also looked confused.

"You're right, Luna, chorts are very suspicious creatures. A long time ago, a chort came to our town and disguised himself as a human, then tried to cheat one of the villagers out of their soul? A young boy almost lost his soul, you know? It was only thanks to that boy’s quick wits that he cheated the chort instead and saved himself, by making a deal. It's why chort brought that piece of stone here. If not for this, his soul would be lost forever. Ever since then, whenever anyone sees a chort they should immediately run away. That's why everyone is so scared of them. But still, being cheated by a young kid, I'm sure chort is just an idiot, so even if he shows up here, we are going to be fine.

I explained to them everything I knew about the chort and the Devil's Stone. After hearing my explanation, Kakeru looked at me with a doubtful expression.

"Sis, I don't get it. Why did you bring us here? It doesn't seem like there is anything special about this place. In the first place, isn't that just a legend? Just some grandpa’s story?"

Just a legend? Oy, oy. Even though you are my little bro, I can't let it slide, Kakeru.

"Kakeru, I want you to listen carefully, okay? This is important! Listen to me closely!" I said as I glared at him. "Do you understand? It's not just a story! There is actually something here that belongs to the chort! Do you understand now? Besides, how else such a huge boulder could get to our town? I'm sure it's real. I have seen it with my own eyes! So please, just believe in me!"

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Kakeru looked at me doubtfully. Then he glanced at Luna.

"Luna, you don't believe that nonsense either, right? You don't believe in this chort and the Devil's Stone thing, right?"

He asked her in a serious tone. Luna pondered over the matter earnestly.

"Hmmm... I don't know... I think she actually makes sense."

She answered honestly.

"Heh, heh. You get it, Luna! I always believed in you! As expected of our Supernatural Research Club member number two." I praised her.

"Don't listen to her, Luna. Isn't that rock just one of those glacial erratics? You know, those rocks that were once part of a glacier but fell off after melting?"

Kakeru looked at Luna with a doubtful expression.

"...I guess you're right, Kakeru, I don't know much about geology." Luna metaphorically shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, come on, Kakeru. Don't be such a smartass. You and your stupid reasons and rationality won't sway me! I know you don't believe in it, but I do! That's why I want you to come with me and see for yourself!"

I looked at Kakeru as I spoke. He was looking at me with a strange look.

"Please, don't fight you two...~" Luna tried to calm us down.

"Hey, sis. You really are too excited, aren't you? You're the type of person who will go out of control when you're hyped up, right? And you're saying that this is all because of the chort? Really? Even though we haven't seen any sign of them?"

Kakeru started to question me.

"Of course! Because I'm super-duper excited! I am so excited I can't even explain it! Plus, the chort is supposed to be a really big creature, so if we see it, I'm sure it'll be really exciting!"

I couldn't help but laugh at my little bro.

"Anyway, sis, I think it's really dangerous to go up there. It's not that high, but..."

"That's right, Yuu. Isn't it a bit dangerous?"

Luna and Kakeru tried to convince me. Luna really is a good girl. But I'm not letting them stop me! I'm going to see the chort today, no matter what!

"Nonsense! I'm not going to be stopped by you guys." I raised my voice as I declared that. "Don't worry you two, I'm with you. I won't let anything happen to either of you. So, come on here. We don't have a whole day. Let's hurry up and climb up already. We are going to see the chort!"

"Sis, you could be a little more careful, please. You are way too excited. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Kakeru was trying to calm me down, but I ignored him.

"Don't worry, don’t worry. Look here. I brought some safety ropes with me. This will protect us from falling down. It's a pretty sturdy rope, too. So, don't worry, we will be fine."

I threw them the ropes that I brought with me.

"Wow, that's amazing! Thank goodness you thought it out so much, Yuu...~" Luna exhaled with her hand on her chest and smiled happily as she received the rope. "But, how did you manage to bring these with you?"

"I bought them from the Adventurer's guild. They sell them there. I thought that it would be a good idea to have some with us, just in case."

"Sis... Sigh. There's no such thing as Adventurers Guild. Didn't you just buy it from a shop with climbing gear?"

Kakeru was frowning at me as he spoke.

"I bought it from Adventurers Guild and that's final! Now, let's go, let's go!"

Luna and Kakeru looked at each other.

"Okay, Yuu. I'm coming. ~" Luna said as she started climbing in earnest.

"Good girl! Come on, Kakeru, you too! Hurry up and follow us!"

"Okay, okay. I will follow you. I don't want anything to happen to the both of you."

Kakeru and Luna started climbing up, and soon the three of us were standing on the Devil's Stone.