Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 147

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The man seemed aware of his rudeness toward me and readily recounted the past.
It was nearly twenty years ago, when my Father was still a fledgling as Duke. The Northern Region was then, as now, locked in a blood-soaked war with neighboring nations, and a fierce struggle for survival was raging between a small country of the Cerepia Federation and the Duchy of Noctram.
During this time, my Father pretended to support Noctram and provided comprehensive military supplies and talented personnel. He negotiated a simple contract stipulating he would receive only one-tenth of the spoils of war upon victory.
And that contract was the beginning of ruin.
“That contract—I should have examined it more carefully!”
“Was there perhaps an unfair clause in the contract?”
“The definition of spoils to be divided included real estate!”
The man spat out his words with such overwhelming bitterness that I could taste his resentment.
Ah… so that’s what he meant by having territory stripped away. I understood now.
“I accepted that Edward Rocksburg would take one-tenth of the lands we conquered. We owed him a debt, after all. But do you know what he did afterward?”
What else had my Father seized? I was almost afraid to hear more, but since his words had already begun to flow, I had no choice but to listen.
“He constructed a dam upstream on the river that flows into Noctram. Then he blocked all the water flowing into our territory, drying it completely, and demanded payment to open the dam’s gates. He continues to collect water fees from us to this day!”
Hmm… yes, that was quite wrong of my Father. But as someone from Rocksburg, I had only one thing to say to the Duke of Noctram.
“Then you should have read the contract more carefully.”
“This is precisely why I cannot trust Rocksburg. My mother took ill from the stress of that affair and has been bedridden ever since.”
I see. So that’s why a man of his station, a Duke no less, made the journey here personally in response to my proposal. I had wondered why such a busy man would visit Rocksburg.
Still, if I could make this trade successful, the Duke of Noctram might at least form a favorable impression of me. After all, Sage’s walkie-talkies would genuinely help with communication corps supply.
Thinking as optimistically as possible, I waited for the Noctram carriage to arrive at the Entrance Hall, but strangely, the postal carriage arrived first.
A man in the Postal Service uniform quickly brought the carriage to a stop and handed me a parchment scroll, saying it was urgent delivery.
“You are Young Lord Rocksburg, are you not? The First Prince of the Largol Empire says he has an urgent matter to convey to you.”
Huh? What business could that fellow have with me after his recent visit?
Those assassins Jack was busily interrogating still refused to reveal their master, so announcing the attack officially would take considerable time. This left me puzzled.
Moreover, when I broke the wax seal on the parchment and read its contents, I found myself even more unable to fathom Lucilucil’s intentions.

Dear Rosalite, Mother seems to be in a corner and may resort to any means necessary. Be careful. The sooner you flee, the better.

Why does this fellow keep wasting money on express delivery just to send nonsense?
Lucilucil’s letter wasn’t worth my attention, so I crumpled it up and tossed it into the flower bed without a second thought. The moment I discarded the express letter after reading it, Duke Noctram seemed curious about its contents.
“Given that parchment was used, it appears to be an important official document. Are you certain it’s safe to discard it like that?”
“He’s the Imperial Historian, but the man keeps suggesting I flee into exile whenever he’s bored. There’s no need to worry about him.”
“Good heavens, recommending exile to the next Duke? What manner of irreverent fool exists in this world?”
My sentiments exactly. That irreverent Lucilucil should hurry up and lose the succession struggle, then get himself exiled to some quiet countryside village where he can live in peace.
As I swallowed my curse, Duke Noctram’s face shifted into something terrifying again. The household servants must have passed nearby. This man truly exhausts himself with such concerns.
“Let us depart. Quickly now.”
Goodness, what a fastidious fellow. No wonder the Duchess insists he maintain composure. A man who looks like a child even at his youthful appearance, now approaching forty with not a shred of dignity to his name—it’s hopeless.
“Very well. I’m fine with it, so please drive as fast as you can.”
“Yes, sir!”
My rear end is going to be split in two.
Since the Duke said it was urgent, the coachman drove with enthusiasm, and inside a carriage where comfort was apparently irrelevant, I rolled left and right with every curve. Unable to watch further, Aster suggested I sit on her lap, and following the woman’s words, she wrapped her arms around my waist like a safety belt, providing stability.
With Aster maintaining my balance, I felt remarkably comfortable.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Blegh.”
The moment we arrived at Bienar Tourist Port, I stumbled out of the carriage and retched. Thanks to Aster, my rear was spared, but the motion sickness was unavoidable.
“Are you alright?”
“No.”
Stop rushing me. Sage’s Disciple isn’t going to run away. The female Disciple had climbed to the observation tower wanting to see the sea while being dispatched to Bienar, so I needed to mentally prepare myself for that ascent.
This observation tower at the tourist port was apparently an old lighthouse, so there was no elevator—only a spiral staircase winding endlessly upward. After motion sickness, climbing stairs? You might as well ask me to die.
“Shall I carry you?”
“Yes. Please do.”
Just then, Aster opened her arms and offered to carry me, so I readily accepted, grabbed her, and rushed up the stairs. Since I was dizzy, I asked her to go smoothly without speed, and the woman nodded and climbed the staircase.
This girl is reliable. She’s capable, yet why was the carriage ride so rough earlier?
“Patron! I’m here!”
Among the throngs of tourists, I spotted my Disciple. The woman was already dressed not as someone on duty but as a tourist. She held a Bienar sightseeing map and a toy model of the Saint Brilliant Lucilucil ship in one hand, wore some strange glasses that looked like cellophane on her face, and held buttered squid in her other hand, enjoying a snack.
There’s no way she’s a mage on dispatch. She’s a tourist thoroughly enjoying Bienar.
“Where’s the radio?”
“Oh, that.”
Besides, since work was an afterthought, she’d just shoved it carelessly into her pocket.
The woman handed what she was holding to Aster, rummaged through her pants pocket, pulled out the radio that Sage had developed, and demonstrated it before Duke Noctram.
“Ahem, this is Bienar. Rocksburg Duke’s Residence, do you copy?”
– Yes, coming through very clearly.
When the voice of the Noctram mage who had been testing communications earlier came through, the Duke trembled with joy. With this alone, he could test impromptu tactics freely, execute surprise attacks at will, and quickly recover broken formations—he was trembling so much… Wait, is the Duke crying?
“Are you alright? You’re crying with your eyes wide open—it’s truly frightening.”
“It’s from joy, such overwhelming joy. Sob, my apologies.”
As the Northern Reaper opened his eyes wide with crimson tears streaming down, the tourists, sensing fear, all hastily retreated from our vicinity. In fact, they seem to be leaving the lighthouse entirely. Well, who’d want to stay in the same place as that man? It’s terrifying.
“With just this, I can truly employ so many different tactics. *sniff* I really, truly love it.”
Ah… that feeling… I suppose I experienced something similar when I received my calculator, so I can’t say I don’t understand it. But seeing it from a third party’s perspective like this is rather unsettling. Getting emotional over a single walkie-talkie to that degree—doesn’t that suggest some kind of personality defect…?
“I’ll pay whatever you ask. Please sell it to me. I’m begging you. If possible, grant me exclusive distribution rights.”
Ah, yes, please don’t cling to me like that—it’s rather revolting.
The Duke was pressing forward relentlessly, which I found deeply uncomfortable, when suddenly the surroundings darkened. It was strange since the sun hadn’t set yet, so I moved closer to the observation tower’s glass window, where I found my Disciple gazing excitedly at the sky.
“What are you doing?”
“You didn’t know, Patron? Today is the day of the total solar eclipse that can only be observed once every 300 years in Bienar.”
Ah, so that’s why you were wearing those odd cellophane glasses. With all the chaos erupting lately, I hadn’t even realized it was eclipse day. If I’d known, I would’ve brought the cellophane glasses I made long ago. A total solar eclipse where the moon completely blocks the sun—such days are hardly common.
I poked my Disciple asking if she had any extras, but she disappointed me by saying there was no way she’d bring spares. Unable to look directly at the sun, I found myself staring at the sea instead, where the waves seemed unusually high.
“The sea level appears rather elevated today, doesn’t it? Surely an eclipse wouldn’t affect the tides…?”
“Now that you mention it, that does seem odd.”
Odd indeed. The seawater was rising so much that the anchored ships were pitching violently, and it looked as though the water might spill over onto the streets where people walked.
Sensing something was amiss, I scanned the far side of the sea carefully, and a small dot-like object was approaching from the distance.
“Silver coins! Does anyone have silver coins?”
“Yes, Patron! Right here!”
Right. You brought plenty of silver coins to operate the observation tower telescope, you well-prepared tourist.
I took the silver coin from the woman, inserted it into the telescope with a click, and aimed it toward the distant object.
From far away, something resembling an anemone came into view.
“Why is there an anemone in the sea?”
“Well, there are anemones in the sea, aren’t there?”
No, that’s not what I meant. I’m talking about a giant anemone. Moreover, the creature was extending tentacle-like appendages, and from their tips, three elemental attacks were pouring down in rapid succession. There was only one person who came to mind, and I couldn’t help but gasp.
“Hey, the only one capable of triple casting is the True Magic Tower Master, right?”
“Yes. The world’s sole 8-Circle Grand Mage. Our idol and pinnacle—Serena alone.”
Hmm… yes, I think so too.
A total solar eclipse occurring while a giant anemone approaches from across the sea, and an 8-Circle Grand Mage capable of triple casting is attacking it.
Despite the peculiar combination, I felt certain I’d heard of this somewhere before. As I racked my brain through past events, the Third Prince’s enormous chest suddenly gleamed and vanished, and a certain passage came to mind.

When a witch from beyond the shore brings the seeds of calamity, the world drowns in darkness.

Now that I think about it, that pseudo-scripture’s apocalyptic chapter contained such a passage as well.
Thinking of the hardships I endured back then, I did my best to escape reality, but the fact that a giant anemone and an 8-Circle Grand Mage were locked in battle beyond the shore, with the eclipse plunging the surroundings into darkness, kept dragging me back to reality.
Ugh… I didn’t even need to resolve this particular plot thread. My teacher certainly has a mischievous sense of humor.
“Ha ha.”
All I could do was laugh.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————