Volume 5 - CH 10

–Time went back a bit.

Cyclo, who had been taking a break from the mental fatigue of facing Alice, was back on his feet after plenty of rest.

“…… I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you. All right, let’s resume training right away.”

“More importantly, Cyclo.”

Karim opens her mouth with a serious expression as Cyclo stands up and regains his composure.

“Are you fine with leaving your Sister alone like this?”

“…… What do you mean by that?”

At Karim’s interference, Cyclo frowns unhappily.

“No, no, no. It’s not that I’m saying that you make up or meddle in any way. –That girl seemed very distressed. If we leave her like this, we don’t know what she will do. That’s what I meant when I asked if it was okay to leave her like this.”

Karim explained her intention, and Cyclo understood.

(–I don’t want Alice to do anything more troublesome. I should probably give her a warning.)

Cyclo thinks so and nods at Karim’s suggestion.

“…… I guess so. I guess we should be careful so she doesn’t do anything unnecessary. If she’s still in the dungeon, there’s a chance she’s up to something.”

Karim is a little disappointed at Cyclo’s words.

(That’s not what I meant — well, whatever.)

Thus, the three of them continued their training — while checking to see if Alice was still in the dungeon — and moved on.

The three then continued their training, going back the way they came.

Since they had passed through once, they did not encounter any monsters, and their pace was quite fast.

And, it was when they entered an area where a large, deep abyss spread out.

“That’s… Ms. Alice, isn’t it?”

Mist saw her and muttered. Cyclo had already noticed and nodded.

“Oh. I don’t know what she’s going to do ……”

Saying that, Cyclo approached Alice’s direction.

But — she’s not acting right. Although they are still some distance away, she does not seem to have noticed Cyclo and the others approaching.

""

The direction in which Alice is going is neither the path of the dungeon nor the way back home – it is a straight line to the abyss.

It was as if she was planning to commit suicide by throwing herself into the abyss.

Cyclo had a bad premonition.

“No, no way,” he denied it in his brain, but when he got closer to Alice, he could clearly see that she had a serious expression on her face, as if she had made up her mind, and his suspicion only deepened.

“Hey, Alice!”

Cyclo called out.

But Alice did not seem to notice.

Finally, she took her first step into the abyss.

“–!? Are you an idiot!?”

At this rate, Alice will fall into the abyss and die unless she gets lucky like Cyclo.

Therefore, Cyclo rushes out in a panic.

“–[Clock generation]!”

""

At the same time, Cyclo activates his Clock Generation skill.

This is a magical tool that he had designed in advance as a safety measure to explore the Deep Hole.

A rope is ejected at the same time as the harpoon that pierces the steep cliff, and a hook shot is equipped in one hand, which can be used as a lifeline in an emergency.

And then – as if to pounce on Alice’s body, which had already begun its free fall – he picks her up from the side.

“What the hell were you thinking, you idiot!”

“What?”

Alice looks around, not understanding what has just happened.

Cyclo, not caring about Alice, launched the hook shot.

The harpoon, fired with great force, pierces the wall of the dungeon, and a lifeline is stretched to support the weight of the two.

“Huh, what, big brother?”

“Shut up for now!”

Alice finally realizes what is going on and starts to panic, but Cyclo doesn’t care about Alice and moves on to his next action.

With the lifeline firmly in place, Cyclo and Alice swing like a pendulum, almost crashing into the wall of the abyss.

However, at the moment of collision, Cyclo kicks the wall and jumps up.

With his extremely high physical ability, Cyclo was able to leap enough to escape from the abyss, even while holding Alice under one arm.

Then Cyclo leaps out of the abyss, activates his hook shot, and with the force of the reeling rope, pulls his body from just above the abyss to the land.

In this way, Cyclo and Alice returns and lands safely.

“Master!”

“Cyclo!”

Mist and Karim run up to them, calling out for Cyclo.

“Don’t worry. This is no big deal.”

Cyclo reassured them by saying that.

He then releases Alice, who is held under his arm, and sets her down in her place.

“……U-Um, uh…”

Alice is at a loss for words.

For Alice – she was suddenly saved by her brother, who was supposed to dislike her. She was at a loss for words to say and her emotions were swinging in various directions.

But on the other hand – Cyclo was filled with strong emotions and impulsively raised his voice.

“–Why did you do something like this!!”

It was–both anger and anxiety.

The emotion oozing from Cyclo’s voice overcame Alice’s confusion and made her open her mouth.

“Uhh …… Because big brother hates me, I thought that if I didn’t suffer the same thing, you might not forgive me.”

Cyclo shakes his head at Alice’s words.

“Still, this is just suicide by jumping off!! Didn’t you know you were going to die!?”

“But!! If I don’t do that, big brother might not forgive me ……!!”

Cyclo’s words make Alice emotional, and she retorts.

“You don’t have to die for that!!”

Cyclo grabs Alice’s shoulder tightly.

“I can’t forgive you. Certainly, this kind of thing is unforgivable. It seems like I’m a narrow-minded person, after all. But …… it’s not that I hate you so much that I want you to die ……!! Because we’re family, we’re ……!! You can’t just die ……!!”

Cyclo was shedding tears as he said.

“Please–don’t do anything unnecessary. You can just wait for me ……! That’s enough for me ……!”

The words that poured out of Cyclo’s mouth with tears were unmistakably his true feelings.

I can’t forgive him. While this emotion dominated his heart, there was a part of him that wanted to be able to trust Alice, his family, again.

However, he was only blinded by his anger – and the abuse he received from the adventurers, and the fear he felt when he fell into the abyss.

So – even in that sense, Cyclo needed time.

However, through Alice’s attempted suicide, he felt more than anger, fear, and trauma; he felt a true desire not to see her die.

Hence, Cyclo cried …… It would have been a loss that regretting it won’t be enough.

And — she received such thought from Cyclo.

“Big …… Big brother ……!”

Alice, too, spills tears.

“I just have to wait, right ……? Then, one day, my brother will forgive me and come for me, right ……?”

“Yes. I want that too.”

She received a promise from Cyclo, an assurance that he would forgive her one day.

Alice’s eyes, filled with emotion, begin to overflow with more tears.

“–Thank goodness ……! I’m so glad ……!”

Alice then cries out loud.

They were not tears of sadness like the ones she cried when they met again.

They were tears of joy and gratitude for being able to start a new relationship with someone she cared about.