Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 148

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Papa! Save me!”
After laughing my fill, I immediately opened the radio channel to find Sage. When I cried out that I was dying, Papa asked what was wrong, and upon learning that a sea anemone the size of a house was fighting with Serena, he shouted that he’d be right there and said he’d radio again once he arrived.
Wait, first, let me stay calm. Stay calm, look through that telescope, and then go stop Duke Neitram from insisting he’ll rush off to fight right this instant.
I had Aster restrain the Duke while I continued my analysis. From Rocksburg Mansion to Bienar Tourist Port, even at top speed by carriage, it would take at least an hour. But judging by that anemone’s velocity, it seemed it would reach the coast in half that time.
By my side stood one northern assassin and one of our household’s infinite-aura-wielding demons. We absolutely needed to bind that anemone’s feet.
It would be best if we could finish it before Sage arrived, but even just buying time until Sage gets here would suffice. A salt-soaked sea creature would be incinerated with 7-circle electricity and be done for.
Of course, if we fried it after it came ashore, the nearby residents, the local community, and world trade would all be ruined as well.
…No, this won’t do! We must prevent it from landing! If the tourist port collapses, how much money flies away! There’s a trade port right nearby! Cerepia, Aleine, Largol—the hub port for three-nation trade!
“We should set sail! She’d be at a disadvantage alone in the sea!”
Why in the world was that person standing alone on the sea without even boarding a ship?! I’d sent a letter asking the Rocksburg Duchy to come, and it was absurd that he appeared from the Empire’s direction, but Serena fought the anemone alone—sometimes freezing the water’s surface, sometimes riding the wind—without any guide or attendant.
Thinking it would be easier to deal with the anemone if she had solid ground to stand on, I instructed the mage the Duke had brought to contact the Bienar Duke’s Mansion and led the rest of the group. Then the northern assassin grabbed me with a terrifying expression.
“Young Lady, you should flee. This place is dangerous.”
“I can’t. I can’t send Duke Neitram alone. Do you know where that is?”
“If you die, I won’t be able to face Duke Rocksburg!”
“If you die, won’t I lose my radio contact!”
“Everyone in Rocksburg is obsessed with money!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Our entire household—all three generations—goes mad over money! Is that clear?!
Besides, I had no intention of dying. With Serena here, with Aster here, with Duke Neitram here, and Sage arriving within the hour, the chances of my death seemed infinitesimal. If anything, I was more concerned about the residents along the Bienar Territory coast. Thinking of the tidal wave damage and the lightning Sage would bring down, I suspected quite a few people might not survive today.
“Let’s take the Saint Brilliant Lusilu! Doesn’t it have emergency power that only requires one mage to operate?”
At my cry, Sage’s Disciple screamed. The Lusilu was conveniently docked at the tourist port, and since all the crew belonged to Rocksburg, they would follow my orders without complaint.
With waves and wind both flowing from sea toward land, without either someone who could manipulate the ship or the emergency power, we wouldn’t be able to get close to the anemone.
“No! I hate being a battery! That voltage conversion gives me a headache!”
“Aster! Bring her!”
“Yes, Young Lady!”
If you’re living under someone’s roof, you follow the master’s orders without complaint. I led the group toward the Lusilu. When the Captain of the Lusilu came out spouting nonsense about how we couldn’t set sail now, I pushed him into the sea and called for the First Mate, who immediately confirmed we’d depart.
Good. The foundation of seamanship is obedience to orders. If you return alive, I’ll appoint you Captain of the Saint Brilliant Lusilu!

I locked Sage’s Disciple in the emergency power room and sealed the door. Then I took the lead and observed the distant sea anemone from afar. The sponge-like creature had countless tentacles writhing all over it.
“So. Have you come up with a plan?”
When I asked the northern killer beside me, the man turned back with a startled expression.
“You’re the one who confidently insisted on setting sail, Young Lady. Didn’t you come forward because you had a method?”
“How am I supposed to devise a strategy? I’m not a mercenary.”
“And what brilliant strategy do I have?”
“You’re from Noctram. Come on, spit out a tactic.”
“And you’re from Rocksburg. Rocksburg always steps up when the nation faces crisis.”
“This is Bienar’s crisis, not the nation’s. And Rocksburg’s specialty isn’t combat. It’s punching calculator keys.”
“Naval warfare isn’t my specialty either.”
“What was all that talk about going out to fight? You’re from Noctram, so do something.”
“Do you think Noctram is omnipotent? We don’t even have troops right now.”
“I’ll lend you our Aster. Aster.”
“What can one man possibly do!”
“Aster is a woman!”
“That’s not the important thing right now!”
“When has the gender of a living creature ever not mattered! Then why do chick sexers get paid for their work!”
Is this fellow’s real specialty actually not combat but arguing? Why does he keep twisting my words!
Besides, he said he’d go fight earlier, so I thought he’d come up with some clever scheme, but it was just a conditioned reflex. Now that his head’s cooled, he’s trying to pass the responsibility to me.
Right, you didn’t just inherit your dukedom by luck either. Your skill at dumping work is just as good as any other duke’s.
“Getting any closer is dangerous!”
I can see that myself. At the First Mate’s shout, I called the sailors and lined them up in a row. That duke wanted to rush out without a plan, but I definitely had a clear purpose when I set this ship sailing. If I just provide the platform, Serena will handle whatever needs to be done!
“Alright, alright! This way, Serena! Turn left, turn left! Keep going straight!”
I gestured toward the True Magic Tower Master and swung my arms around to direct her course. Serena’s sense of direction was practically nonexistent, but fortunately her hearing was intact, so she successfully followed my voice and landed.
“Who are you? How do you know my name?”
“I’m Rosalite Rocksburg, who has been protecting Sage until now. Sister!”
“Gasp, uh, sister?!”
The beautiful black-haired woman wearing a monocle and capable of triple-casting as an 8-Circle Grand Mage seemed surprised and covered her mouth. She demurred that she wasn’t old enough to be my sister, but the genuine smile creeping up her lips as she said she loved it couldn’t be hidden.
“What are you saying! No matter how you look at it, you’re definitely old enough to be my sister! Sister! Gasp! I’m twenty-three years old right now, but surely you’re not younger than me? If so, haven’t I committed a grave discourtesy!”
“Pfft, hehe, ah, no sweetie, goodness what kind of child is this. I’m your sister, that’s right. I have some shame, how could I pretend to be a teenager, oh this is frustrating what do I do. Hohoho.”
Serena fanned herself with her hands while tensing her facial muscles, and shouts erupted among the sailors to hold tight to the deck.
When the giant sea anemone’s tentacle struck the water surface with a thud, a wave as large as a house rose up and the ship tilted dangerously. I used electromagnetic force to stick firmly to the iron plating of the main mast, while Serena lightly jumped and floated about using the wind to evade the waves.
“So you weren’t just protecting our Sage’s little one. Child, what circle are you?”
“3-Circle!”
“My goodness, at such a young age, you’ve studied hard.”
The woman patted my head vigorously, and she seemed delighted that my high-pitched voice sounded just like a lost puppy. It seems Serena still hasn’t found her lost puppy this time around. She makes that puppy sound every time we meet. She must have raised one with great care.
“Anyway, we need to do something about that Joraab Mountain monster.”
“Joraab? You mean the state religion of the Largol Empire?”
“Yeah. Those Joraab priests summon them whenever they’re bored. You know, ancient… no, ancient creatures?”
What’s that, I’ve never heard of it. When I shook my head in shock, the woman frowned and tapped my head. Serena, who had been tapping my head like she was fixing a broken appliance, finally seemed to remember something and her expression brightened.
“That’s right, that’s right. I cut off the bloodline of those summoning priests two hundred years ago. Kids these days wouldn’t know about that.”
How old are you exactly? I found it strange from the moment you treated Sage—who’s over a hundred years old—like a child. Sigh, dealing with Grand Mages is really warping my sense of age.
“I’ve already summoned Sage, but it will take at least an hour. Can we handle this through Serena in the meantime? If that thing makes landfall, the harbor will suffer massive damage.”
“My goodness, you’re even kind—not like kids these days.”
The woman patted my head vigorously once more before falling into deep thought. In the meantime, the swaying ship steadied, and Duke Neitram came rushing toward me, completely drenched in seawater.
“This is a disaster! Since that mage stopped attacking, it’s accelerating even faster!”
The landing time’s been cut short—do something, anything, quickly!
I grabbed Serena and shook her urgently, but she had shut down like a broken appliance and wouldn’t listen to a word I said.
“How does close combat look, Duke? Our girl here fights so well she once even caught a giant squid!”
“There are too many tentacles and they’re too long! The ship will be destroyed before we can even get close!”
So I had no choice but to wait for the broken Serena to snap back to her senses. My impatience was eating me alive when I heard a thud beside me—Aster stepped forward. This little one had apparently raided some food storage, and she spoke while chewing on what looked like a ham hock.
“Young Lady. That long-range attack is possible.”
“What?”
“Probably.”
Wait. What exactly are you trying to do?
Aster tore into the raw ham, then approached the deck railing and adjusted her grip on her sword.
“Die!”
What the—who is this person!
That stance… I’d seen something similar long ago when I visited Edanelli. It was that exact posture—the one that person used when they threw roses and performed wire-action, firing aura like a beam.

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