CH 34

“Can I come with you to the guild?”

“No, thank you.”

“Why not!?”

The timeline was still on the way home. I chilled out when my brother and Nora were walking hand in hand, but Luciela got bored with the two of them, who didn’t seem to be intimidated at all, and got involved with me again. It was the nightmare of my lunch break all over again.

When we talked about what we were going to do, my brother said he was going to take Nora to the orphanage, and I said I was going to make a request at the guild, and then Luciela’s line from earlier came out.

“Luciela, you can’t trouble Lars, okay? …… Lars is working hard for the house. Actually, I should be the one taking the initiative.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I didn’t tell brother I was going to the guild. Besides, brother helps me out sometimes, right.”

“I’m sorry, Lars.”

“You can pay me back when you grow up!”

“Haha, that’s true.”

When we laughed, Luciela looked at us with a strange look.

“You guys are so close. I’ve always imagined male brothers fighting with each other. Isn’t that the case with Mort-san, who lives three doors down from us?”

“I don’t know about Mort-san, but brother is very kind so we never get into fights. That’s why Nora is always smiling.”

“Yeah. Dedite-kun is very kind.”

Luciela’s eyes narrowed for a moment when she saw that kind of Nora, but then she immediately smiled and started talking to me again.

“So let’s go to the guild!”

“No! Did you hear what Dedite-kun said? You can’t interrupt him!”

“Che~.”

She seemed to be seriously rebuking her, frowned in disgust, and then hurried away from them.

“Thank you, Luciel.”

“No, no. You have to tell it strongly to Sister, after all. Lars-kun can be angry too, okay? Or you can call me.”

That was a very encouraging thing to say. I can imagine that her sister must be annoyed with me, on the contrary. I didn’t say anything at lunch out of respect for the fact that she was older than me, but now that I have her sister’s permission, I’ll talk back without reservation from now on.

“Okay, we’ll be going this way.”

“See you tomorrow.”

On the way, we parted ways with my brother and Nora, and it was just the three of us. I asked Luciel what was bothering her.

“Right, right, [Jewel Master] is related to jewelry, right? What happens if I use it?”

“Well, before processing, jewels are worthless stones, but it is difficult to process them. But if you use your skills to cut it, you will know how to make it beautiful. But it’s not easy to get rough stones, and it’s useless for anything else, so I think it’s a bad skill too.”

She said this to me as if he was concerned about my [Jack-of-all-Trades]. But since the value of a gem is based on how it’s processed, it’s possible to make a fortune with a rough stone.

“No, no, no, what am I thinking ……”

“?”

I shake my head, thinking for a moment that I could be a tool for making money, and then, feeling embarrassed, I walk forward. Then I came to a point where I had to part ways with them.

“We’re going this way.”

“You should take me some time. I’ve never been to a guild before and I’m interested. Papa’s too picky, after all.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Well, I’ll see you later♪.”

As I watch them walk away, Luciel whispers to me.

“(You know, father always says to my Sister, “You’re a big sister, so get a grip”, or “You’re a big sister, so you should be able to do this.”, so she was always scolded. That’s why I’m reluctant to help out at the store, and we argue a lot. Maybe I’m more free at the academy without my father …… So I was surprised at lunch.)”

“(I see. If that’s the case …… well, I can understand how you feel. ……)”

“(What?)”

I was an older brother in my previous life …… My parents’ expectations were for my younger brother, so what I heard were things like, “You’re no good even though you’re my older brother,” or “You’re not very good even though you’re my older brother,” which I would never want to say if I were my parents.

My parents now always praise my brother and me for what we can’t do. They say that siblings are supposed to make up for what they can’t do.

But I never thought that uncle(Luciel’s Dad), who seemed so timid, would say something like that. Human beings, you can’t always tell what they are just from their outward appearance ……

And Luciela. Maybe next time I’ll try to talk to her properly and not just ignore her? I feel like she’s gotten off on the wrong foot and can’t turn back. It’s also possible that she doesn’t have any friends with that personality.

In addition, she’s Luciel’s sister and my brother’s friend, with that excuse, I walked into the guild.

“Hello!”

“Lars-kun, welcome. You look good in your academy uniform.”

“Hoh~ ……”

“Don’t look so red, Mizuki. ……”

When I walked in, I was immediately greeted by Gibson-san and Mizuki-san. This is the first time I’ve seen them since I went straight home on the day of the entrance ceremony.

“Ah, you’re just in time. The guildmaster has just returned from a business trip and he’s been saying he wants to meet Lars-kun, what do you think? Do you think you have some time? I mean, it’s been a year since I’ve seen Lars-kun at all, so I’d like you to meet him.”

Guild Master!? Why would such an important person want to meet me? It’s not that the request is absolute, it’s just that if you’ve been out of touch for a year, it’s kind of unfortunate.

“Okay!”

“Good, then let’s go to the back room together.”

So Gibson-san came out of the reception and took me to the back of the guild, which I hadn’t seen yet.

A complicated family situation is one of the themes of the chapter. I hope you will find it interesting.

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Fua ……”

Did you have a good sleep!?