Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 202
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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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Our team completed all preparations in a single day, packing our bags light and our purses heavy. Light luggage, heavy coin purses—the cardinal rule of travel.
I mounted my beloved horse Elizabeth for this journey and surveyed my companions. Sage rode a beautiful mare borrowed from our household. Both Aster and Leon brought their own mounts properly equipped. Prince Nerva clung to Aster’s back like a burr. Serena mentioned she was afraid of riding, so she’d simply use magic to catch up with us.
Jack, meanwhile, seemed intent on bringing Peter along to ride with him. As for Mother…
That looks like William’s mare, but I’d best not interfere. We’d only end up quarreling again.
I waved farewell to those seeing us off before stopping beside Glen. Once I returned from Largol, matters would reach their conclusion one way or another—whether I captured Celin and dissolved the contract, or became a battery. My life’s direction would be determined.
So, I had one thing I absolutely must do—if, by some miracle, I returned alive!
“Glen.”
“Yes, yes! Rosalite.”
“If I return safely, I have something to tell you.”
“…”
What? Why? Isn’t this supposed to be a touching moment? Why is he frowning like that? Moreover, Jack must have overheard our exchange, for he stopped mid-climb onto Peter’s back and flared up in anger.
“Don’t say such inauspicious things!”
“Why? What’s inauspicious about it?!”
“It’s the same as saying that if the Young Lady returns alive from the battlefield, she’ll marry her childhood sweetheart fiancé!”
“No, this is completely different!”
Ugh, Jack had to bring up such ominous examples. In any case, I’d made a considerable resolution, so I sent Glen a meaningful wink and led the group forward.
Upon arriving in Bienar, I entered a secluded cottage on grounds that seemed neither naval base nor Duke’s Mansion, and immediately roused the Duke from sleep to begin negotiations.
The woman who had transformed most of the Duke’s Household into a workplace while she herself napped in this shabby cottage initially resisted my proposal to head to Largol, but the moment she checked the radio, her attitude shifted entirely.
Being from Rocksburg, she naturally had her plans. She declared loudly that she’d escort us safely to Largol, then wiped away sleep from her eyes with a towel and went outside, summoning her men with crude epithets before assembling a fleet ready to set sail immediately.
It seemed… this wasn’t the formal Alein Navy, but rather the Duke’s private fleet that would protect us. Well, the Duke’s private vessels were better equipped than regular military ships anyway. I didn’t mind. Since I was departing as a privateer captain rather than an Alein military officer, this woman’s manner of speech was indistinguishable from that of a pirate.
“Men, let’s go! We’ve got a job!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
…They really are a pirate crew.
I grew uneasy at her conduct, and Prince Nerva, clinging to Aster’s back like a burr, trembled with anxiety. When he mentioned the rumors he’d heard—that this woman’s actions were no different from those of a gangster—while gripping Aster’s back tightly, Duke Bienar, as if reading his mind, smacked the young prince’s head with a loud thwack.
After that… well. How dare the Great Largol Empire’s… details omitted… A defeated prince presuming to… details omitted… Her husband fled, so… details omitted… This brat acting up, so… details omitted…
Leaving the two to play at their level, I locked Sage’s two disciples—whom I’d brought as emergency engines—in the engine room and ordered departure. Since we were heading to Largol anyway, I suggested we stop by Rohil, eat plenty of delicious food, and play in the sea. Most of my team agreed enthusiastically, though Serena pressed her forehead in resignation.
But there was nothing the woman could do. Serena simply rested comfortably, receiving elder treatment, relaxing in the warm region with her back supported and receiving massages.
At a Rohil restaurant, Aster held up a menu and pompously ordered everything from here to here, only to throw a tantrum when only half the dishes arrived. But I’ll omit the details due to space constraints.
The fool had apparently mistaken the menu, which listed items in three languages—Alein, Largol, and Cerepia—thinking they would be served in order.
How embarrassing. It’s so embarrassing that I deliberately won’t mention it. Sometimes he’s quite clever, but why does he usually act like this?
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The Saint Brilliant Lusilu Ship sailed smoothly toward the Largol International Port under the escort of Duke Bienar’s privateering fleet, and as we approached the border waters, the Largol Navy gathered in droves, exactly as expected.
They wailed their sirens—weee-weee-weee—as if to say they’d open fire if we came any closer. But I had nothing to worry about with the invincible Bienar fleet as my escort. My only concern was being stuck here and wasting time.
“I’ll handle this myself.”
Huh? What’s gotten into this old woman?
Still dressed in the vacation one-piece I’d worn back in Rohil, sunglasses on my eyes and a coconut juice in my mouth, I’d been lounging on a sunbed near the swimming pool when I hastily sat up.
As I sipped the coconut juice through a bamboo straw and asked what she was thinking, Aster came hurrying after me while fanning herself with a large fan, and Serena asked if she could bite someone.
“If we leave things as they are, there’ll be significant casualties. It’s better to fire off something big and make them run away.”
“Grandmother! Surely you’re not planning to do that?!”
What on earth is happening here?! Don’t keep me in the dark like Papa does—explain what’s going on!
But the two great mages seemed oblivious to anyone else, forming their own little world and shutting me out.
“Yes. Since things have come this far, I bear responsibility too. I should tell that little one everything and show her my true power.”
“But… that would hurt your pride…!”
“Just do as I say!”
So why are you both being so solemn about this?!
When Serena stepped forward to the bow, Sage looked almost tearful as she asked me to bring everyone into the ship’s cabin. Apparently, this meant that Grandmother Serena was making a big decision to reveal her secrets, and only I was to witness it.
“Well… it’s not a difficult request, so I’ll respect her wishes.”
“Thank you. Thank you, Doctor.”
I’d been sunbathing, and now this came out of nowhere. But as someone who’d always emphasized respecting the elderly, I had no choice but to comply with Serena’s request. I had the Fourth Prince and our people move to the ship’s cabin, and following Sage’s instructions to keep only the minimum crew needed to operate the ship outside with their ears firmly plugged, the sailors of the Lusilu Ship obediently blocked their ears.
What could it be? Why block their ears? Some kind of lion’s roar? Then shouldn’t I block mine too to be safe?
“I’m sorry, Doctor. Bear with me for a moment.”
“Mmph!”
But Papa didn’t plug my ears—he plugged my mouth. What was about to happen was top secret, and if I so much as laughed even once, Serena’s heart would shatter, so I had to keep my mouth firmly sealed.
…Huh? Laugh? Shatter? What would I even have to laugh about right now?
“It’s beginning.”
Ohhh, so Serena is about to fire off some big magic? Ah, so that’s why she said earlier that she’d step forward and make a big threat to scare them into running away?
“O King of the Abyss. Answer my call.”
“…”
“…”
Pardon? What king?
Did I mishear? Did that woman just invoke the King of the Abyss?
“Grandmother Serena normally only uses silent casting magic. Even knowing it’s weaker, she refuses to use formal magic with incantations.”
Wait, what? So all this time—the flying magic, freezing the conference hall in Rohil, trapping the sea anemone in what looked like a permanent glacier—she wasn’t even using her real power?
“I shall be thy Abyss! Devour! Devour! Devour! That all-consuming hunger alone is thy true nature!”
Pfffft!
Pfft! Hahahaha! Bahahaha! Please, please stop. Someone take Nietzsche away from this woman! Why does this old woman love the abyss so much?!
“Once an incantation is established for a spell, it cannot be changed. That old woman must have done something so foolish in her youth, a mistake made in a moment of carelessness.”
“Mmph, pfft, snort!”
“That’s why I made a decision when I saw her plight. The incantation must be clear. Short. Words I won’t be embarrassed by even fifty years from now!”
So that’s why Papa’s magic was so fast and concise?! He developed his spells to be abbreviated with just scope designation and formula release so he wouldn’t be mortified later?! This man is absolutely insane!
“Heed my call! Serenade of Ruin!”
Oh… how could every last word be so embarrassing? I could feel the creator’s intent bleeding through, and shame coursed through my entire body.
She wanted to draw the incantation from her own name, and I could sense her determination to end it with Serenade. Since Serenade is a song, it would make contextual sense and sound magnificent if words like “resound” or “sing” were included, but “resound” lacked finesse, so she deliberately chose “illuminate” instead. And since it was a destruction spell, she likely thought “annihilation” needed to be woven in for proper impact.
Feeling each of these deliberate choices, I couldn’t unfurl my curled fingers and toes. Yet, once Serena finished her entire incantation, the magic that erupted was extraordinary.
The air trembled with a deep resonance. The gathered flames drew a straight line and surged forward relentlessly. The sea didn’t merely split—it evaporated. Serena’s attack reached that distant shore and showed no sign of diminishing.
The coastline transformed. The land that once existed completely vanished, leaving a gaping chasm, and seawater rushed in to fill the void, spawning a massive tsunami.
Witnessing this unbelievable moment, the Largol Navy scrambled frantically to turn their ships around.
After taking a deep breath, I gently lowered Sage’s hand from covering his mouth and turned toward Serena. It was magnificent magic. The process had been rather horrifying in places. Yet something far greater stirred my already overwhelming emotion.
With just this one person, we wouldn’t even need nuclear weapons. I extended my hand to Serena as if seeking reconciliation.
“Serena.”
“Huh? Yes?”
“While you’re at it, would you carve it into a cute star shape?”
The coastline of the Great Largol Empire will forever remain adorably star-shaped. Let this land bear an irreversible scar, so they carry the humiliation inflicted by a single mage from Alein for the rest of their lives.
I covered my own mouth to keep from laughing, then directed Serena on the angles needed to create a beautiful star shape.
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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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